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ANNALS 



OF 



STATEN ISLAND, 



From its Discovery to the Present Time, 



BY 



J. J. CLUTE 



If we look for a spot which forever is blest 
By Nature with her perennial smile, 

* * * * * * * # ^ # 

We never need leave our own green i.sle." 

Anon. 



NEW YORK: 



3-^3 o 



Press of Chas. Vogt, No. 114 Fulton Street. 



1877 



{ ^c 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1877, by 

JNO. J. CLUTE, 

In the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. 



PREFACE. 



This work was undertaken at the suggestion of several 
citizens of the county, who were aware that the writer, 
during a residence of between forty and fifty years, had 
accumulated a large amount of interesting materials relating 
to the history of Staten Island. These were collected from 
time to time, for the purpose of publishing them in our local 
journals in the form of historical sketches, and not with the 
ulterior view of giving them to the public in their present 
form. They have now, however, been arranged, so far as 
was practicable, in chronological order, and a large amount 
of new matter introduced. For the local anecdotes and 
personal incidents, which might be extended almost indefi- 
nitely, the writer is indebted to the memories of several old 
people who have now passed away, some of whom were 
almost centenarians when they died, but whose memories 
abounded in reminiscences, and with whom he was on terms 
of close intimacy. He has thus preserved the memory of 
many events of local interest, which otherwise would have 
passed into oblivion. 

By far the most eventful period in the history of Staten 
Island was during the war of the Revolution, but the 
generation which was active then, has long ago disappeared, 



IV. 

and many events in the local history of the community, 
made up of personal experiences, remain forever unwritten. 
It is undoubtedly true that at the commencement of the war, 
the greater part of the people of the Island were in 
sympathy with the enemies of the country ; but the licen- 
tiousness and rapacity of the soldiery had inspired them 
with such enmity towards the British government, that at its 
close a revolution in the popular sentiment had taken place, 
and those who adhered to their loyalty, and followed the 
fortunes of their fellow loyalists, were probably not more 
than half a dozen in number, and these were they whose zeal 
for the royal cause had led them into the commission of acts, 
which, if they had remained on the Island, would have 
exposed them to public contempt, if not to public justice. 
Nevertheless, there were a few whose insignificance protected 
them, and who continued to "talk tory" as long as they 
lived, and grieved over the departure of the "times of the 
king when guineas were plenty." It has been the fortune 
of the writer to come in contact with two or three of these gar- 
rulous old mourners for royalty, the remnants of a class now 
totally extinct, whose reminiscences were not the less valu- 
able, because they were tinctured with tory ism. 

We acknowledge with gratitude our obligations to the 
Rev. Dr. Brownlee, the late Rev. Dr. Gk>ddard,andthe Rev. W. 
L. Lennert, for access to such records and documents as their 
respective churches, the oldest on the Island, possessed. 
The clergymen of several other churches have cheerfully 
furnished brief, but comprehensive data for historical notices 
of their respective churches. To the Hon. B. P. Winant, of 
Rossville. we are indebted for the original record of the es- 



tablishment. of Methodism on the Island. We are also in- 
debted to a gentleman well known in literary circles, for the 
historical part of the article on the Sailor's Snug Harbor. 

Difficulties, in some instances insuperable, have been met 
in the effort to trace the genealogies of many of the oldest 
families on the Island. In very few can a correct or intelligi- 
ble record of descent be found, and in some of these the 
records have been commenced at a date so recent as to be 
utterly useless for our purpose. 

Were it not perplexing, it would be amusing to note the 
variety in orthography of many of the patronymics ; for in- 
stance, the name of the Decker family is spelled as follows : 
Dekker, Deceer, Deeceer, Decker, etc. ; the Depews, as 
follows : Depuy, Depew, Dupue, Depeue, etc. ; the Disosways, 
as follows: Dussauchoy, Desuway, Dusachoy, Dussoway, 
Dissoway, etc. ; the Bodines, as follows : Bodoin, Boudoin, 
Boudin, and Bodin, which is probably the original orthog- 
raphy. 

Another difficulty, and one entirely insurmountable, is 
found in a custom which obtained among the early Dutch, in 
an entire and unrecognizable change in the family name; 
thus, for instance, Hans Jansen may be described as Hans 
Jansen, van den berg, or John Johnson, from the hill or 
mountain, or Hans Jansen van de zant— that is, John John- 
son from the sands or sea- shore— and his descendants, or 
some of them, would adopt the name of Vandenburg or 
Yanzant, thus annihilating at once all trace of their descent 
from the Jansen family. 

In the few instances in which the writer differs from the 
published histories of individuals and families, he will be 



VI. 

found to be strictly correct, when the proofs which he has 
submitted are examined. 

The limited area of Staten Island, about fifty square miles, 
its isolated position, and, in consequence, the isolated condition 
of its inhabitants, render it improbable that many important 
historical events have transpired upon it. Personal incidents 
and reminiscences might have been multiplied almost indefi- 
nitely, but sufficient have been given to enable the reader to 
form an opinion of the condition of society upon the Island, 
during the several periods of its history. 



VII. 



INDEX 



CHAPTER I. 

Discovery — Verazzani — The first death — Hudson River — Hostages — The first 
battle — Localities inhabited — Food — Animals. . . . . . . . 1 

CHAPTER II. 

Name — Dimensions — Surface — Climate^Geology — The fur trade — The first Eng- 
lish claim — The Dutch take possession — The Brownists 8 

CHAPTER III. 

The West India Company — English claims — Arrival of settlers — First settlement 
on Staten Island — At the Wallabout — Birth of the first child — Purchase of 
Manhattan Island — The Patroons — Communipaw — De Vrie's grant — Melyn's 
patent— Staten Island massacre and its consequences — Still, &c, upon Staten 
Island — Indian murders and murder of Indians 14 

CHAPTER IV. 

Long Island Indians — Roger Williams — Expedition against the Staten Island 
Indians — Searches for the precious metals — Toad Hill Iron Mine — Misgovern- 
ment of the Directors — Bogardus and De Vries — Their Policy — Decline of the 
Fur Trade— Kieft recalled— His Death— The several Sales of Staten Island . 23 

CHAPTER V. 

Appointment, arrival and character of Stuyvesant — His silver leg — Disputes re- 
specting boundaries —Disputes between Melyn and Kieft — Melyn's troubles 
with Stuyvesant — His sentence, and the reversal thereof — Stuyvesant sum- 
moned to Holland to answer — Sends his attorneys — Local troubles— Charges 
against Stuyvesant by the English — Early condition of the Island 27 



Vlll. 



CHAPTER VI. 



A hard winter — Melyn's character — His return to America — Sale of the ship and 
cargo— Van Dincklagen — War between England and Holland — Stuyvesant's 
perplexities — Ferry rates — John De Decker — Stuyvesant's proclamation against 
preachers — Indian war of 1655 — Staten Island ravaged — Melyn forsakes the 
colony — Sells his title to the Island — Waldenses and Huguenots settle on the 
Island — Dom. Drisius — Defence of Melyn — Kief t's shipwreck and death. . 33 

CHAPTER VII. 

The province wrested from the Dutch by the English — A change of masters— De 
Decker banished — New grants on Staten Island — Elizabethtown settled — The 
establishment of courts — Berkley and Cartaret's patent — Nicoll surprised 
and indignant — Treaty of Breda — Nicoll's resignation, and appointment of 
Lovelace , 42 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Tradition and legitimate history— Doubts as to the proprietorship of the Island — 
Circumnavigated — Christopher Billop — The Bentley manor— The Billop fam- 
ily — Tomb-stone records — Errors of Dunlap corrected — Col. Billop's capture 
and imprisonment 47 

CHAPTER IX. 

Purchase of the Island in 1670 — Indian reservations — De Decker restored to his 
rights— Death of Stuyvesant — Preparations for war — War between England, 
and France and Holland — Capture of the province by the Dutch — Restoration 
to the English — Manning's punishment — Duke of York's new patent — Staten 
Island separated from the Long Island courts— Excise — The dreadful comet- 
star — Dongan's administration— His patent to Palmer — Dongan's manor 
house — Historical errors corrected — Papist alarms — Dongan's mill — Leisler's 
administration — Officers of the county — Sloughter — Plowman's law suit. . 52 

CHAPTER X. 

Complaints against the sheriff — Census from 1698 to 1771 — Slaveholders — Civil 
and military officers — Disappearance of old families — Cold winter of 1740-'l 
— Traveling in the olden time — A traveler's adventure in the woods —Cold 
winters of 1761 and 1768 — Baron DeKalb — Domestic life of the olden time. 69 

CHAPTER XI. 

Gov. Hardy — The Delanceys — Expedition against Louisburg — Gen. Amherst — 
Conquest of Canada — Moncton's army on Staten Island — Amherst invested 
with the Order of the Garter on Staten Island — Extracts from old papers — 
Beginning of the Revolution —Tories on Staten Island 80 



IX. 



CHAPTER XII. 

Military value of Staten Island — British take possession of Staten Island — 
Brutality and insolence of the British soldiers on Staten Island 84 

CHAPTER XIII. 

The tories and whigs of Staten Island — Submission of Kings county — Interview 
between Howe and the American commissioners at the Billop house — Rich- 
mond — Great fire in New York — Howe's expedition into New Jersey, and at- 
tempt to reach Philadelphia by land — Knyphausen's expedition into New 
Jersey — Murder of Mrs. Caldwell— Invasion of the Island by the Americans 
— Stirling's invasion 89 

CHAPTER XIV. 

Lt. Col. Simcoe — His adventures in New Jersey — His capture— Negotiations for 
peace — Was Washington ever on Staten Island ? — His opinion of the people — 
Dwellings of the Hessians 99 

CHAPTER XV. 

Capt. Hyler's adventures — Nathaniel Robbins — The Prall families robbed — 
Futile attempt to rob John Bodine — Insolent conduct of two British officers — 
A soldier scalded with boiling soap — Soldiers stabbed with hay-forks — At- 
tempt to kidnap a young lady frustrated — Instance of prompt decision — 
Soldiers shot by a boy — Attempt to rob a farmer of his horse — Burglars dis- 
covered by means of a button— Evacuation of the Island — An eye witness' 
account of it Ill 

CHAPTER XVI. 
The Quarantine— Murders 131 

APPENDIX " A."— CIVIL LIST. 

Members of the provincial Congress 140 

Representatives in Congress " 

State Senators from Richmond County " 

Judges of the County Courts 141 

Presidential electors from Richmond County " 

Members of the Colonial Assembly from Richmond County " 

Members of Assembly from Richmond County 142 

Members of the State Constitutional Conventions from Richmond County . . . 144 

School Superintendents of Richmond County 145 

Clerks of Richmond County '• " 

Surrogates of Richmond County " 



X. 

Sheriffs of Richmond County 145 

District Attorneys of Richmond County 146 

Regents of the University from Richmond County " 

Supervisors of Castleton and Northfield , 147 

of Southfield, Westfield and Middletown 148 

prior to 1766 149 

County taxes from the year 1766 " 

APPENDIX " B."— EXTRACTS FROM OLD RECORDS. 151 

APPENDIX "C."— ANECDOTES, &c. 183 

APPENDIX "D."— GOVERNMENT. 203 

APPENDIX " E."— STATEN ISLAND 200 YEARS AGO. 210 

APPENDIX " F."— VILLAGES. 

New Brighton 218 

Port Richmond 220 

Edgewater 222 

APPENDIX "G."— NOTED LOCALITIES. 

Toad Hill 226 

Watchogue 228 

The Rose and Crown 229 

The Bull's Head 230 

The Clove— The Finger-board road 232 

Holland's Hook — Morning and Blazing Stars 233 

Kill Van Kull— Arthur Kull— The Old place 234 

APPENDIX " H."— HOSPITALS. &C. 

The Sailors' Snug Harbor 238 

The Retreat 247 

Seamens' Children's Home 249 

The S. R. Smith Infirmary— Y. M. C. A 250 

APPENDIX "I."— CHURCHES. 

Reformed Church, Port Richmond 254 

Richmond 259 

Brighton Heights 260 

" " of the Huguenots 261 

St. Andrew's Church ... 262 



XL 

Calvary Presbyterian Church, W. N. Brighton 288 

Presbyterian Church, Bdgewater 270 

Church of the Ascension, W. N. Brighton , 271 

St. John's Church, Clifton 272 

St. Paul's Church, Middletown 273 

St. Luke's Church, Bossville 274 

Church of the Holy Comforter, Eltingville " 

Moravian Church 275 

Baptist Clrurch, Park 282 

" Mariner's Harbor 285 

" " Graniteville 286 

South 287 

Methodist Church — Woodrow 288 

Bethel and St. Paul's 290 

" " Asbury, Suimnerneld 291 

St. Mark's— Trinity 292 

" " Grace — Cebra Avenue .' 293 

St. John's — Lutheran " 

Unitarian 294 

Roman Catholic — St. Peter's = 297 

St. Mary's, Clifton 299 

St. Joseph's, Kossville — St. Patrick's — St. Mary's 300 - 

APPENDIX " J."— BIOGRAPHIES. 

Individuals 302 

Nicholas Garrison 304 

Abraham Jones 306 

David Mersereau 307- 

Nathan Barrett 310 

Cornelius Vanderbilt 312 

Daniel D. Tompkins 317 

Samuel Russell Smith, M.D 319 

APPENDIX " K."— INDUSTRIES, &c. 

New York Dyeing and Printing Establishment 322 

Barrett, Nephews & Co's Fancy Dyeing Establishment 324 

Fire-Brick and Gas Retort Manufactory 326 

Linoleum Company 327 

Whitelead and Linseed Oil Manufacturers 328 

De Jonge's Paper Factory 329 

The Oyster Trade 

Staten Island Railroad 331 

Breweries 332 



Xll. 



APPENDIX "L. "— Old Families. 



Preliminary Notice 336 

Alston family 338 



Androvette 

Barnes 

Bedell 

Blake 

Bodine 

Bogart 

Braisted 

Britton 

Burbank 

Burglier, &c. 

Busk 

Butler 

Cannon 

Ckristopker 

Cole 

Colon 

Conner 

Corsen 

Cortelyou 

Crips 

Crockeron 

Cruser 

Cubberly 

Decker 

De Groot 

De Hart 

Depuy 

Disosway 

Dubois 

Dustan 

Eddy 

Egbert 

Enyard 

Fountain 

Frost 

Garrison 

Guyon 

Hatfield 



339 
341 
342 
343 
344 
346 
347 
348 
349 
351 

353 
354 

356 
357 

358 
363 
364 

366 
368 
369 
371 
373 

. 375 
, 376 

. 377 
. 378 
. 379 
. 380 
381 
. 383 
. 384 
. 386 
. 387 



Haugkwout family 

Hillyer 

Holmes " 

Housman " 

Jacobson 

Joknson " 

Jones 

Journeay ' 

Laforge 

Lake 

Larzelere 

Latourette 

Lisk " 

Lockman " 

Martling " 

Martino " 

Merrill " 

Mersereau " 

Metcalf " 

Morgan 

Perine " 

Poillon " 

Post 

Prall 

Kyerss " 

Seguine '' 

Sharrott 

Simonson 

Still well 

Sprague 

Taylor 

Totten 

Van Buskirk " 

Vanderbilt " 

Van Name " 

Van Pelt 

Wandel " 

Win ant " 

Woglom " 

Wood 



389 
390 
391 
392 

395 
396 
397 
398 
399 
400 
401 
403 

404 
405 
408 

412 
413 
414 
416 
417 
418 
419 
420 
421 
422 
424 
426 
427 

428 
429 
431 
432 
434 
435 
437 



APPENDIX "M."— MISCELLANEOUS. 
APPENDIX "N."— NOTES. 



439 
451 



Annals of Staten Island. 



CHAPTER I. 

Discovery — Verazzano — The First Death — Hudson River — Hostages — The First 
Battle — Localities Inhabited — Food — Animals. 

Bright and calm, over the heights of Neversink, broke the 
dawn of the third day of September, 1609 ;* the early breeze 
rippled the surface of the slumbering ocean, and rnstled 
through the leaves of the forest trees, awakening the song- 
sters which nestled beneath them to pour forth their matin 
hymn to greet the king of day ; the world seemed glad that 
light had once more dispelled the darkness. But all this 
beauty and harmony were lost upon the human denizens of 
the woods and mountains, who stood in groups upon the 
strand, gesticulating eagerly, and gazing intently, over the 
vast expanse of water which stretched out inimitably before 
them. Far off towards the Southeast, the unusual sight of 
a mere speck upon the surface of the ocean excited their 
wonder. Long and patiently they watched it as it slowly 
approached and grew larger and larger, until it had assumed 
proportions far exceeding that of any moving object which 
had ever before met their vision. What could it be % Was it 
some great bird which had flown over the great sea from some 
distant islands ? Or, was it the Great Spirit who had de- 
scended to earth to visit and to bless his children % Slowly and 
majestically the object swept past, turned around the sandy 

* Vide A pp. N. (1.) 



2 ANNALS OF STATEJST ISLAND. 

point of land beyond them, and stopped. It was the Half- 
Moon, and bore Henry Hudson and his fellow voyagers. 
They supposed, erroneously, however, that they were the 
first white men who had ever looked upon the enchanted 
scene which surrounded them. Hudson was ignorant that, 
nearly a century before (1524), Giovanni Verazzano had en- 
tered the bay, and anchored near the same spot ; that he lay 
there until the next morning, when a violent gale compelled 
him to put to sea again. Though not the first to behold, 
Hudson was the first to penetrate the mysteries of the land 
and water which extended to an unknown distance before 
him. In one boat he visited Coney Island, and sent another, 
containing five men, on an exploring expedition Northward. 
These men passed through the Narrows, coasted along Staten 
Island, and penetrated some distance into the Kills. On their 
return they suddenly encountered two large canoes, contain- 
ing twenty-six Indians, who, in their alarm, discharged a 
shower of arrows at the strangers, and killed one man, an 
Englishman, named John Coleman, by shooting him in the 
neck. Both parties became frightened, and pulled away 
from each other with all their strength. Coleman's body was 
taken to Sandy Hook, and there interred, and the place was 
called "Coleman's Point." 

The discovery of a northwest passage to the East Indies 
had, for a long time, been an object of great interest to the 
merchants of Europe, and in 1607 Hudson was sent to ascer- 
tain its practicability. He penetrated as far north as eighty- 
two degrees, discovered Spitzbergen and part of Greenland, 
and, encountering an impenetrable barrier of ice, he returned 
to England. 

The next year, 1608, another expedition was fitted out by 
the same parties, and the command again entrusted to Hud- 
son. This also proved a failure, as far as its principal object 
was concerned. The English company having declined to 
make another experiment, Hudson entered into the service of 
the Dutch East India Company, and was sent out in the Half 
Moon to renew the attempt. He sailed from Amsterdam on 



AlSHSTALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 3 

the fourth day of April, 1609, and once more directed his 
course for the northern seas. Again the ice presented an in- 
superable barrier, and he was obliged to abandon the object 
of his search. In the hope of discovering something to in- 
demnify his employers for the expenses of the voyage, he 
sailed for the Continent of America, and arrived in the 
vicinity of Newfoundland in the month of July. Thence he 
followed the coast until he reached Virginia, which it appears 
he recognized as belonging to the English, and knowing that 
all south of that had been appropriated by Spain, he turned 
about and sailed northward again, until the third day of Sep- 
tember, when he saw the highlands of Neversink, and, as we 
have already narrated, anchored within Sandy Hook. 

Notwithstanding the mishap, as the death of Coleman was 
regarded, the natives proved to be friendly, and freely 
bartered with the strangers such articles as they had to dis- 
pose of, such as tobacco, maize, wild fruits, etc. Hudson 
remained at anchor until the eleventh, when he sailed through 
the Narrows, and anchored in the mouth of the great river 
which now bears his name. On the thirteenth he again 
weighed anchor, and proceeded to explore the beautiful 
stream upon whose bosom he was floating ; he was eleven 
days in ascending as far as the site of Albany, and as many 
mere in descending. Before starting, he had had considerable 
intercourse with the natives, but had always prudently kept 
himself and his men prepared for any emergency, and though 
the natives frequently came on board armed, they made no 
hostile demonstrations ; Hudson, however, detained two of 
the Staten Island Indians as hostages, and took them with 
him on the voyage up the river, as far as the site of West 
Point, where they escaped by jumping overboard and swim- 
ming to the shore. On his way he encountered many of the 
Indians, who, though they manifested a friendly disposition, 
were nevertheless suspected of entertaining hostile intentions, 
and it was supposed that the dread with which they regarded 
the arms of their visitors alone restrained them. 

On his return down the river, while lying at anchor off 



4 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

Stoney Point, numerous canoes from both sides surrounded 
the ship, from one of which an Indian entered the cabin by 
climbing through a stern window, from which he stole sev- 
eral articles of clothing. As he left the ship with his plun- 
der, the mate detected him and shot him, killing him in- 
stantly. This was the first blood shed by the whites. When 
the ship' s boat was sent to recover the stolen articles, one 
Indian, who appeared to possess more courage than his 
fellows, while swimming, laid hold of the boat, apparently 
for the purpose of overturning it, but a sailor, with a single 
blow of his sword, cut off his hands, and he was drowned. 
It was supposed that the two Staten Island savages who had 
escaped at West Point, on their way down the river, had 
alarmed the several tribes, so that when the ship arrived at 
the upper end of Manhattan Island, it was met by a large 
fleet of canoes filled with armed savages, who discharged their 
arrows, but fortunately without doing any serious injury. 
A cannon was twice discharged at them, killing some of them, 
and tearing their canoes to pieces, the sailors meanwhile 
firing at them with small arms. The result of this engage- 
ment was that nine Indians were killed, and many more 
wounded, while the whites had sustained no inj ary whatever. 
Having escaped all the perils which surrounded him, Hudson 
put to sea on the fourth day of October, having spent a 
month in his explorations. 

The chronicler of this voyage of Hudson, Robert Juet,* 
says : 

"1609, Sept. 6. Our master sent John Coleman with four 
men to sound the river four leagues distant, which they did, 
but in their return to the ship they were set upon by Indians 
in two canoes, to the number of 26 ; in which affair John 
Coleman was killed by an arrow shot into his throat, and 
two others were wounded. The next day Coleman was buried 
on a point of land which to this day bears his name. 

" Sept. 8. The people came on board us, and brought 

* Vide App. N. (2.) 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 5 

tobacco and Indian wheat to exchange for knives and beads, 
and offered ns no violence. So we, fitting np onr boat, did 
mark them to see if they would make any show of the death 
of our man, but they did not. 

" Sept. 9. In the morning two great canoes came onboard 
full of men ; one with bows and arrows, and the other in 
show of buying knives, to betray us, but we perceived their 
intention. We took two of them, to have kept them, and 
put red coats on them, and would not suffer the others to 
come near us, and soon after the canoes leave them. Im- 
mediately two other natives came on board us ; one we took 
and let the other go, but he soon escaped by jumping over- 
board. 

" Sept. 11. The ship had now anchored a considerable 
•distance up the river. The people of the country came on 
board, making show of love, and gave us tobacco and Indian 
wheat. 

"Sept. 12. This morning there came eight and twenty 
canoes full of men, women and children to betray us, but we 
saw their intent and suffered none of them to come on board. 
They have great tobacco pipes of yellow copper and pots of 
earth to dress their meat in. 

"Sept. 15. Sailed twenty leagues further up the river, 
passing by high mountains. This morning the two captive 
savages got out of a part of the ship and made their escape. 
" Sept. 18. The master's mate went on shore with an old 
Indian, a sachem of the country, who took him to his house 
and treated him kindly. 

"Oct. 1. The ship having fallen down the river seven 
miles below the mountains, comes to anchor. One man in a 
canoe kept hanging under the stern of the ship, and would 
not be driven off. He soon contrived to climb up by the 
rudder, and got into the cabin window, which had been left 
open, from which he stole a pillow, two shirts and two 
bandoleers. The mate shot him in the breast, and killed him. 
Many others were in canoes about the ship, who immediately 
tied, and some jumped overboard. A boat manned from the 



6 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

ship pursued them, and coming up with one in the water, he 
laid hold of the side of the boat and endeavored to overset it ; 
at which one in the boat cut off his hands with a sword, and 
he was drowned. 

"Oct. 2. Fell down seven leagues further, and anchored 
again. Then came one of the savages that swam away from 
us at our going up the river, with many others, thinking to 
betray us, but we suffered none of them to enter our ship. 
Whereupon two canoes of men with their bows and arrows 
shot at us after our stern ; in a recompense whereof, we dis- 
charged six muskets and killed two or three of them. Then 
above an hundred of them came to a point of land to shoot at 
us. There I shot a falcon at them, and killed two of them ; 
whereupon the rest fled into the woods. Yet they manned 
off another canoe with nine or ten men, which came to meet 
us ; so I shot at it also a falcon, and shot it through and 
killed one of them. Then our men with their muskets killed 
three or four more of them." 

The Indians dwelling upon Staten Island at the time of its 
discovery were the Raritans, a branch of the great nation of 
Delawares or Leni-Lenapes. From indications found in 
various localities, such as large collections of shells and 
bones, it is evident that they dwelt on or near the shores of 
the island, where fish, scale and shell, were easily procur- 
able ; this is also confirmed by the fact that their burial places 
have been found in the same vicinity, neither of these indica- 
ations of human habitation having been found in the interior. 
Stone hatchets and stone arrow-heads, springs rudely built 
up with stone walls, have been found at no great distance 
from the shores ; one of the latter may still be seen a short 
distance northeast of the Fresh Pond, or Silver Lake, in 
Castleton, and is known by the name of the Logan Spring. 

The interior of the island was their hunting ground, where 
deer, bears and other animals of the chase were found. The 
shores also afforded an abundant supply of water fowls, aod 
thus, all their resources considered, the Indians were well 
supplied by nature with the necessaries of life. In addition 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 7 

to these, they had wild berries and fruits, and maize, beans, 
tobacco, and other articles of their own cultivation. The 
proximity of the island to the mainland, enabled them to 
extend their hunting expeditions indefinitely. The wild 
animals which were found on the neighboring continent, were 
also found here, but they, as well as their human contempo- 
raries, have gradually retired or perished as civilization ad- 
vanced. Forty years ago, an occasional fox might be detect- 
ed prowling through the bushes, but now nothing but the 
timid rabbit, of all the quadrupeds which once roamed over 
the hills and through the valleys, is left. 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 



CHAPTER II. 

Name— Dimension s— Surf ace — Climate — Geology — Tlie Fur Trade — The First 
English Claim — The Dutch take Possession — The Brownists. 

There is no evidence that Hudson ever circumnavigated 
the island, but that he satisfied himself of its insular charac- 
ter, is evident from the name he bestowed upon it ; he called 
it " Staaten Eylant," the island of the States — that is, the 
States General, under whose flag he was sailing. To the 
aborigines it was known as " Aquehonga Manacknong," and 
in some old documents it is called "Egquahous," another 
Indian name which is said to signify ' ' the place of bad 
woods." 

The form of the island is that of an irregular triangle. The 
longest line which can be drawn through it, from the shores 
of the bay at New Brighton to the extremity of Ward's 
Point, is a few feet over thirteen and a half miles in length ; 
the longest line which can be drawn across it, from the shore 
of the Sound near Buckwheat Island, to the shore at the light- 
house near the Narrows, is about two hundred feet over seven 
and three-fourth miles in length. 

The surface of the island is diversified ; there is a high ridge 
commencing at Tompkinsville, and running southwesterly to 
the Fresh Kills, in the vicinity of Richmond, the highest point 
of which is at the intersection of the Toad Hill road and 
Ocean Terrace, and which is the summit of the Island ; a 
branch of this ridge terming ting near the Black Horse Corner, 
is distinguished by the local, and by no means euphonious 
name of "Toad Hill." To the southeast of this ridge is a 
level, and probably alluvial, tract of country composed of 
upland and salt meadow, extending to the ocean. The soil 
of this upland is of excellent quality, and some of the best 
farms in the county are located here. To the northwest of 



'ANNALS of staten island. 9 

this ridge the surface is undulating, gradually declining to 
level upland and saline meadows. Almost every farm in the 
county is furnished with several acres of this meadow, from 
which large quantities of salt grass are taken annually. The 
soil of the island generally may be considered fertile — in some 
places unusually so — though in consequence of more than two 
centuries of cultivation it has become partially exhausted, 
and requires fertilizing. The island is well watered with 
springs, some of them very copious, and all of them affording 
water of excellent quality ; these are the sources of numer- 
ous rivulets and brooks which irrigate the surface in all direc- 
tions. Excepting the salt meadows, the whole island was 
originally covered with dense forests, which have long since 
disappeared ; in most places the woods now growing, occupy 
lands which were once cultivated. 

The climate of the Island has long been celebrated for its 
salubrity, except for affections of the lungs and throat. 
There are few localities on the continent where the number 
of instances of extreme longevity in proportion to the popu- 
lation can be equaled,' many of them being more than 
centenarians. 

Staten Island is based upon primitive rock, which rises 
near its centre into a ridge, running longitudinally through 
it, with a breadth of from one to two miles. Boulders of 
green-stone, sand-stone, gneiss, granite, etc., appear in some 
sections sparingly, but in the northeast part of the Island, 
in considerable abundance. Steatite, containing veins of talc, 
amianthus and alabaster covers the granite of the ridge ; this 
approaches in many places within one and a half feet of the 
surface. Brown hematitic iron ore, of a superior quality, is 
abundant, as well as granular oxide of iron. Chalcedony, 
jasper, lignite, crystalized pyrites, asbestos, dolomite, brucite, 
gurhofite, and serpentine, are the other principal minerals. 



The climate of Holland and other countries of Europe, 
rendered furs indispensable to their inhabitants ; hitherto 



10 ANT5TALS OF STATED ISLAND. 

these had been obtained chiefly from Russia, and at great 
expense. The Dutch had discovered that there were furs in 
the countries newly discovered, which were easily procurable 
in exchange for articles of extremely trifling value ; the 
temptation to engage in a traffic so exceedingly profitable, 
was'too strong to be resisted by a people so prompt to pro- 
mote their own interests. Accordingly, in 1611, a vessel was 
dispatched to the Manhattans as an experiment, and so 
successful was this venture, that a spirit of commercial 
enterprise was at once awakened. Two more vessels, the 
Little Fox and the Little Crane, were licensed, and under the 
pretence of looking for the Northwest Passage, sailed direct 
for the newly-discovered river. This was in the spring of 
1613. Having arrived, the traders erected one or two small 
forts for the protection of the trade on the river. The posi- 
tion of the island of Manhattan for commercial purposes was 
so favorable as to strike the Europeans at once, and the 
traders who had scattered in various directions made that 
island their head-quarters. Hendrick Cortiansen was the 
superintendent of the business, and* with his small craft 
penetrated every bay or stream where Indians were to be 
found, in pursuit of furs. 

In the autumn of this year, an Englishman, known in 
colonial history as Captain Argal, a resident of Virginia, 
touched at the island of Manhattan, to look after a grant of 
land which he claimed to have received from the Virginia 
Company, and, it is said, compelled Cortiansen to submit to 
the English authorities, and to pay tribute in token thereof. 
When the merchants in Holland who were interested in the 
fur trade heard of the pretensions of the English, they at 
once adopted such measures as they deemed necessary to 
secure both the trade and the country to themselves. They 
petitioned the States- General for protection and relief, and on 
the 27th of March, 1614, an octroy or ordinance was issued, 
granting them the privilege of making six voyages for the 
purpose of discovering new countries and seas, and trading 
to them. This octroy awakened the enthusiasm of adven- 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 11 

turers, and five ships, viz. the Nightingale, the Little Fox, the 
Tiger, the Fortune of Amsterdam, and the Fortune of Hoorn, 
were sent out. Among the commanders of these vessels were 
Adrian Block and Cornelis Jacobson Mey, the former of 
whom gave his name to an island, and the latter to a cape on 
the American coast, which they still retain. Block had the 
misfortune to lose his ship by fire, but he immediately built 
a small vessel, with which he penetrated into the unknown 
waters eastward ; he passed through and named the Hellegat, 
after a river in Flanders, then continuing his course with 
Metoae or Sewanhacky, now Long Island ; on his right, he 
sailed along the shores of the continent, discovered the 
Housatonic and Connecticut rivers ; the latter he named the 
Fresh river, and finally discovered the open ocean, thus for 
the first time demonstrating the insular character of the land 
on the south of his course ; to one of the smaller islands east 
of Long Island he gave his own name. Continuing his 
voyage along the coast, he discovered and examined Narra- 
gansett Bay, which he called Nassau Bay, and thence to Cape 
Cod, which Hudson had already discovered and named New 
Holland, and here he found Cortiansen's ship. While Block 
was thus examining the north side of Long Island, Mey was 
similarly employed on its south side, until he also reached its 
end, when he stood towards the south and entered Delaware 
Bay, giving his own name to one of its capes, and calling the 
opposite cape Hindlopen, from a town in Holland. 

When the intelligence of these discoveries reached the pro- 
jectors of the several voyages, at home, steps were imme- 
diately taken by them to secure to themselves the benefits of 
their enterprise and perseverance. All the country lying 
between the 40th and 45th degrees of North latitude was 
called "New Netherland." Exclusive privileges to trade to 
these countries for a limited period were given to them. A 
trading house was at once erected on an island in the Hudson, 
near the present site of Albany, and the country on both 
sides of the river thoroughly explored in quest of furs ; and 
by the time of the expiration of the grant, which was at the 



12 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

close of 1617, some of the merchants engaged in the trade 
had realized immense fortunes therefrom. 

The charter having expired, the trade of New JSetherland 
was thrown open, and adventurers from all parts of the 
fatherland eagerly enlisted therein ; the former traders, how- 
ever, held on to the advantages they had gained by their 
prior occupancy. 

Thus it will be seen that the first Europeans who visited 
this part of the Continent, came for the purpose of trading, 
not of settling permanently, but having become favorably 
impressed with the soil and climate of the country, they 
began to entertain the idea of making it the place of their 
future abode, and to devote to agriculture that part of the 
season when furs were not obtainable. 

During the reign of Elizabeth, certain religionists who had 
renounced the communioii of the established church, had 
formed themselves into a separate organization under the 
pastoral care of Richard Brown, from whom they were called 
u Brownists ;" these became the objects of the intolerance of 
the hierarchy, and the several enactments enforced against 
them drove them from their homes and country to Holland, 
as the only refuge in which they might enjoy their religious 
opinions undisturbed. But they left a seed behind which 
eventually germinated and fructified, and in turn became the 
objects both of clerical and regal persecution. These also 
were compelled to flee to Holland, where they settled in 
several towns. Those who took up their residence at Leyden 
were under the pastoral care of the Rev. John Robinson, and 
after a protracted residence, applied to the States-General for 
permission to settle on Manhattan Island. The company of 
traders whose ships were employed in traversing the ocean, 
and carrying to the old world the wealth of the new, at once 
perceived the benefits which would result, not only to both 
countries, but to themselves individually from such an ar- 
rangement, seconded the application with great earnestness. 
But the government, though not averse to the scheme, had 
matters of infinitely more importance at that juncture to en- 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 13 

gage their attention. The twelve years' truce which had been 
arranged between the United Provinces and Spain, was about 
to expire, and the latter power had already required the 
former to return to their allegiance. This demand having 
been indignantly rejected, preparations were made for a re- 
newal of hostilities, and therefore the vessels of war, and the 
armed protection which the petitioners had requested, was 
refused. This decision changed the destinies of the emigrants, 
who subsequently settled on the bleak shores of New Eng- 
land. Different commercial associations had been formed 
among the Dutch themselves, whose several interests began 
to interfere with each other, and this led to bickerings and 
disputes, all of which were finally set at rest by the chartering 
of the "Dutch West India Company," which absorbed all 
private interests, and became the controllers of all matters 
relating to the New Netherlands. 



14 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 



CHAPTER III. 

The West India Company — English Claims — Arrival of Settlers — First Settle- 
ment on Staten Island — At the Wallabout — Birth of the First Child — 
Purchase of Manhattan Island— The Patroons — Communipaw — De Vries' 
Grant — Melyn's Patent— Staten Island Massacre and its Consequences — Still, 
etc., upon the Island — Indian Murders and Murder of Indians. 

The powers and privileges ot the West India Company 
were not confined to the narrow limits of the New Nether- 
lands ; they embraced the whole range of the American 
coast, from the Horn to the Arctic Sea, and on the west coast 
of Africa from the Hope to the Tropic of Cancer, not pre- 
viously occupied by other nations. On the American coast 
settlements had been made by the French at Canada, by the 
English at Virginia, and by the Spaniards at Florida. The 
preparations made by the directors of the newly chartered 
company to improve the privileges granted to them, attracted, 
in England, the attention of the government, and a strong re- 
monstrance was sent to Holland, insisting that all the territory 
claimed by the Dutch was embraced in the charter of Vir- 
ginia, and therefore was under the jurisdiction of England. 
The matter was from time to time brought before the author 
ities of both countries, and the discussion protracted by the 
Dutch for the purpose of gaining time, that the preparations 
of the new company might be completed. The country was 
organized into a province, a few settlers were sent out, and a 
form of government was established, with Peter Minuit at its 
head as Director ; this was in the year 1624. In the same 
year, and probably in the same ship with Minuit, a number 
of Walloons arrived and settled upon Staten Island ; this is 
the first settlement on the Island of which we have any 
knowledge. These people came from the country bordering 
on the river Scheldt and Flanders ; they professed the re- 
formed religion, and spoke the old French, or Gallic Ian- 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 15 

guage ; they were good soldiers, and had done efficient ser- 
vice in the thirty years' war. Two years before their arrival 
here, they had applied to Sir Dudley Carleton, for permission 
to emigrate to some part of Virginia, upon condition that 
they might build a town of their own, and be governed by 
officers chosen by and from among themselves. This appli- 
cation was referred to the Virginia Company, and met with a 
favorable response so far as the mere settlement was concerned, 
but the privilege to elect their own officers was too long a 
step toward popular freedom, and could not be conceded; 
the permission to settle upon the Company' s land was fettered 
with so many conditions affecting their civil and religious 
liberty, that they declined to entertain it, and turned their 
attention to the New Netherlands, where so many arbitrary 
conditions were not insisted upon. On their arrival here, 
they appear to have abandoned the idea of settling in a single 
community, for they separated and went in different direc- 
tions, a few families, as we have said, taking up their abode 
on Staten Island. The precise spot of their settlement cannot 
now be ascertained, but wherever it was, they did not occupy 
it long ; annoyed by the constant intrusions of the Indians, 
and apprehensive that in the event of difficulty with them, 
they were, too remote from assistance, in the following year, 
1625, they removed to Long Island, and settled at what is now 
known as the Wallabout, a name supposed to have been de- 
rived from them. The name of only one of these Walloons 
has been preserved, that of G-eorge Jansen de Rapelje, who, 
on the 6th or 9th of June of that year, became the father of a 
daughter who was the first child of European parents born in 
the colony.* Some of our local annalists have claimed that 
the birth of this child took place before the removal to Long 
Island, but this is a claim which cannot be sustained. The 
father of this child was the progenitor of the respectable 
family of that name on Long Island. 

Having determined to colonize the country, and the per- 
mission of the government having been obtained, the West 

* Vide App. N. (3.) 



16 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

India Company proceeded to extinguish the Indian title by 
purchase. They repudiated the principle involved in the 
adage, "Macht maakt recht,"* and entered into negotiations 
for securing title to the whole of Manhattan Island ; this was 
accomplished during the year 1626, for articles the value of 
which was about twenty-four dollars. They have been 
charged with imposing upon the simplicity of the natives, 
and taking an undue advantage of their ignorance, but it 
must be remembered that at that time the island was a mass 
of rocks, swamps and dense forests, unavailable for even the 
purpose of a residence without great labor and expense ; that 
the Indians were content with their bargain, is evident from 
the fact that they never after attempted to re -sell it, as they 
did Staten Island and several other places. 

The first great landed proprietors in New Netherland were 
called " Pa-troons ;" they were Samuel Gfodyn, Samuel Bloe- 
mart, Killian Van Rensselaer and Michael Pauw. The two 
first named settled in Delaware. Van Rensselaer obtained a 
patent for a large tract on the Hudson in the vicinity of 
Albany and Troy, and Pauw became the proprietor of all 
the country extending from Hoboken southward along the 
bay and Staten Island Sound, then called Achter Kull, now 
corrupted into Arthur Kull, including Staten Island ; this 
grant was made to him by the Directors in 1630. At the 
same time the country was purchased from the natives 
for "certain cargoes or parcels of goods," and called 
Pavonia. The name of this proprietor still attaches to a 
part of his possessions in the locality known as Communi- 
paw — the Commune of Pauw— which has usually been sup- 
posed to be a name of Indian origin. It is to be mentioned 
to the credit of the Company, that they made it a condition 
in the patents which they granted, that the recipients should 
extinguish the Indian title by direct purchase, and this was 
exacted in every instance, f The consideration paid to the 
natives was not money, which would have been useless to 

* Ibid (4.) [Vide App. N. (5.) 



ANNALS OF STATED" ISLAND. 17 

them, but cloths of various kinds, culinary utensils, orna- 
ments, etc., but not fire-arms. 

The value of the articles paid for the fee of the Island 
varied at different times, for the Indians sold it repeatedly. 
Pauw's acquisition was not of much benefit to him ; it is not 
known that he made any effort to colonize it, or that he ever 
cleared a rood of it, for very soon after acquiring it, difficul- 
ties arose between him and the Directors, and he disposed of 
his territorial rights on the Island and on the Continent to 
his associate Directors for the sum of 26,000 guilders. He 
was a man of consequence in his own country ; he was one 
of the Lord Directors of the Company, and among their 
names we find his set down as the Lord of Achtienhoven. 

In 1630, or soon thereafter, David Pietersen De Vries 
obtained a grant for a part of the Island, and began to make 
settlements upon it, but the precise locality is not known ; 
it is supposed, however, to have been at or near Old Town, 
(Oude Dorp). The dwellings of the settlers, on their arrival, 
were generally constructed as speedily as possible, that their 
families might be sheltered. Excavations for this purpose 
were generally made in the side of a hill, or other con- 
venient spot, and lined and roofed with rude planks, split 
out of the trees ; sometimes the roofs were covered with 
several layers of bark ; these were only meant for temporary 
dwelling places, until better ones could be provided. 

De Vries was a literary man, and author of a historical 
work. There is no evidence that he resided upon the Island 
permanently ; the settlers, however, who were introduced by 
him, prospered for a time, and until their bouweries or farms 
were desolated by the savages, as we shall see hereafter. 

Peter Minuit having been recalled, in 1633 Wouter Yan 
T wilier was appointed in his stead. The change, on the whole, 
was not beneficial to the colony. Minuit' s faults, whatever 
they might have been, were succeeded by the new Director's 
vices, among which inebriety was not the least. The appoint- 
ment was a sad mistake on the part of the XIX, and though 
it took nearly five years to convince them of the fact, yet when 



18 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

once convinced, they took prompt measures to repair their 
error by removing him. There is no historical evidence, that 
we have been able to discover, that Van Twiller ever set foot 
upon Staten Island during his administration, or that a single 
event occurred in connection with the Island, except the actual 
bickerings and disputes with the Raritans, as well as with other 
Indians. Notwithstanding, he appears to have had a predi- 
lection for islands, for when he perceived indications of the 
approaching termination of his administration, he hastened 
to secure to himself the possession of the island called by 
the Indians Pagganck, which subsequently became known as 
Nutten Island, and later still as Governor' s Island, then esti- 
mated to contain 160 acres of land ; and two other islands in 
the Hallegat, the one called Tenkenas, containing 200 acres, 
and the other called Minnahanock, containing 120 acres. He 
secured these islands by private purchase from the Indians. 
The wisest act of Van Twiller' s administration was an advan- 
tageous peace he concluded with the Raritans, the Indians 
inhabiting Staten Island and the adjoining shores of the con- 
tinent ; this was in 1634. During this year came over Jan 
Evertsen Bout and his wife Tryntje Simonz de Witt ; he after- 
wards became a man of considerable note in the colony, and 
in 1638 purchased a farm and settled upon it ; this was the 
first settlement in the town of Bergen, N. J. 

In 1639, Cornells Melyn, of Antwerp, sailed for America ; he 
is known in the Dutch history of the colony as the patroon 
of Staten Island. He was a wealthy man, and accompanied 
by several of his own class. He had obtained from the Direc- 
tors in Holland authority to take possession of Staten Island, 
and have it settled, but on the passage his vessel was cap- 
tured by the "Dunkirkers" or French, by which he lost all, 
or nearly all his property. Early in 1641 he applied to the 
Directors for a passage for himself and family, which was 
granted, and in August of that year he arrived at New Am- 
sterdam. He came over in a ship called the Eyckenboom, 
(oak tree), and brought with him a small quantity of goods 
for the Indian trade. On the 19th of June, 1642, he received 



AITETALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 19 

a patent for so much of Staten Island as was not already 
occupied by the farms or bouweries of De Vries. 

In the spring of 1640, some parties, on their way from New 
Amsterdam to South river, Delaware, stopped at Staten Island 
to take in water, and while there stole some hogs from the 
settlers on De Vries' bouweries. The Indians residing on the 
Raritan, and who had manifested a hostile disposition, were 
at once charged with this theft, which from the scarcity and 
value of the animals was regarded as a serious offence. Kieft, 
the director of the province of New Netherland, who had been 
appointed to succeed Minuit, appears to have been an indis- 
creet and imprudent man, and eminently possessed of the 
Dutch attributes of obstinacy and self-will. He at once 
charged the Indians with the theft, and resolved to punish 
them severely. He sent his secretary, Vantienhoven, and 
seventy men, some of whom were sailors from the ship 
Neptune, Capt. Hendrick Grerritsen, and some of them 
soldiers from the stockade or fort, with instructions to invade 
the Indian country, capture as many of the natives as they 
could, and destroy their crops. When the party reached 
their destination, they became insubordinate, and the secretary 
lost all control over them ; they declared their intention to 
kill every Indian they could find, and though reminded that 
that would be exceeding their instructions, they persisted in 
their resolution, and the secretary becoming disgusted with 
their conduct, left them. Several of the unfortunate savages 
were killed, and the chief s brother was barbarously butchered 
after he had been made a prisoner, by one of the party 
named Go vert Loockermans. Their crops were destroyed, 
their wigwams burned, and other outrages perpetrated. 
Having done all the mischief in their power, the whites re- 
tired, leaving one of their number, the supercargo of the 
Neptune, named Ross, dead on the field. 

During the same year, 1640, the director erected a still 
upon Staten Island, and put it in charge of Willem Hendrick- 
sen, and thus our Island obtained the unenviable honor of 
being the place where spirits were first manufactured, not only 



20 ATSTNALS OF STATEN island. 

in the province, but probably in America. Kieft also com- 
menced the manufacture of buckskin on the Island, about 
the same time. In September of the same year, the director 
and council caused a staff to be erected at the Narrows, that 
by the hoisting of a flag the approach of a ship might be 
telegraphed to New Amsterdam ; this was the first marine 
telegraph in the harbor of New York. 

The Indians, goaded to desperation, not only by the un- 
justifiable destruction of their crops, and slaughter of their 
brethren, but by a long continued course of frauds practised 
upon them by unscrupulous men, who first intoxicated and 
then cheated them in bargaining with them, resolved upon 
revenge. One of their first acts was to invade Staten Island, 
where they attacked De Vries' bouwerie, killed four men, 
and burned two of his houses. This was in 1641. 

Not long before, a young Indian, smarting under a sense 
of wrong, vowed to kill the first Dutchman who crossed his 
path, and he kept his vow. Kieft, forgetting that himself 
was the instigator of all these outrages, announced his inten- 
tion of taking summary vengeance upon the savages. It 
was in vain that the prominent men of the colony counselled 
moderation — in vain that they represented to him that his 
course would be adding fuel to the fire — he replied to all 
their remonstrances that the law was "-blood for blood," and 
he meant to have it ; he recognized the applicability of the 
law to the whites, but not to the savages. His anger 
was chiefly directed to the Raritans, and he entered into 
an agreement with some of the river Indians to assist him in 
annihilating that tribe ; to excite their blood-thirsty disposi- 
tions, he offered ten fathoms of wampum for the head of a 
Raritan, and twenty fathoms for the head of every Indian 
engaged in the murders upon Staten Island. At this time 
he built a small redoubt upon the Island. 

In the meanwhile, the Indians upon Long Island began to 
manifest a hostile disposition, and Kieft found himself in- 
volved in new troubles. It was evident from some of his 
measures that he began to regret his precipitancy, and if 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 21 

nothing else had occurred to irritate him anew, he might have 
consented to forget the past, and to " bury the hatchet," but 
just at this juncture some traders happened to meet an 
Indian of the Hakensack tribe, who was clothed in a dress 
of valuable beaver skins ; him they made drunk, and then 
robbed. On recovering his senses, the savage vowed to 
shoot the first Swannakin (white man) whom he should meet ; 
he did that, and more ; an Englishman, who was a servant of 
De Yries on Staten Island, was met by him and killed, and 
shortly after a man named Van Vorst, while engaged in re- 
pairing a house in the vicinity of Newark bay, met the same 
fate. Apprehensive of further trouble, a deputation of 
chiefs of some of the neighboring tribes, waited upon the 
Director, whom they found greatly excited, and not disposed 
to reason with them. He informed them that the only way 
to keep peace was to surrender the murderer. " We cannot 
do that," they replied, "because he has fled, and is out of 
our reach." They offered to make compensation for the 
crime, according to the customs of their people ; nothing, 
however, could propitiate Kieft but the possession of the 
murderer. The Indians represented to him, that it was not 
they who committed the murders, but the white men's rum ; 
" keep that away from the Indians," said they, " and there 
will be no more murders;" but Kieft was inexorable — he 
was resolved upon war, unless they surrendered the murderer, 
who was as far out of their reach as out of his. 

An event now occurred which gave a new direction to 
Kieft' s purposes. A band of Mohawks, the terror of all the 
neighboring tribes, made a descent upon some of the villages 
of the river Indians, who fled to Manhattan Island to seek 
the protection of the Dutch. They were hospitably received 
and protected by them for a fortnight. Half dead with 
cold* and hunger, they were objects of commiseration ; 
even Kieft appeared to have some sympathy for their 
wretchedness. Here was an opportunity for reconciling all 
diificulties and effecting a permanent peace ; but an evil 

* Vide App. N. (6.) 



22 ANNALS OF STATED ISLAND. 

spirit was abroad in the land ; people began to talk about 
the final disposition of these refugees ; they were divided 
in opinion ; the Indians became aware that they had en- 
emies even among those who had afforded them temporary 
shelter, and they fled the second time, scattering themselves 
in various directions, and seeking shelter and protection 
among the neighboring tribes. Van Tienhoven and his asso- 
ciates, some of whom were members of the Council, .sought 
permission to pursue and kill the fugitives, while De Vries, 
Domine Bogardus and their associates, recommended concilia- 
tory measures and Christian forbearance. Kieft was in a 
dilemma,. but the secretary, taking advantage of the Direc- 
tor's inebriety, presented to him a commission ready drawn, 
and plied him with such arguments as a drunken man would 
be likely to appreciate, succeeded in obtaining his signature. 
In the dead of the night of the 25th of February, 1643, 
two companies left the fort on their errand of death — one 
commanded by Maryn Adriaensen, a man infamous for his 
bloody deeds, the other by sergeant Rodolph. Both compa- 
nies were impiously committed to the guidance and protec- 
tion of Heaven. They went in different directions, but as 
their proceedings are in no way connected with the task in 
hand, it must suffice to say that they both accomplished 
their bloody purposes ; the savages were found buried in 
slumber, and were ruthlessly murdered without discrimina- 
tion. Over one hundred of them were sacrificed' under the 
most appalling circumstances of barbarity. 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 23 



CHAPTER IV. 

Long Island Indians — Roger Williams— Expedition against the Staten Island 
Indians — Searches for the Precious iMetals — Toad Hill Iron Mine— Misgov- 
ernment of the Directors — Bogardus and De Vries — Their policy — Decline of the 
Fur Trade— Kieft recalled— His Death— The several Sales of Staten Island. 

New troubles now arose with the Long Island Indians. 
Thus far they had remained quiet, but the Dutch, with an in- 
fatuation utterly unaccountable, suffered no opportunities to 
pass to excite them to deeds of violence. Matters were be- 
coming worse daily, and an outbreak of Indian fury could 
not have been suppressed much longer, when, through the 
unremitting assiduity of the philanthropic Roger Williams, a 
meeting between Kieft and several Indian sachems took place 
at Rockaway on the 25th of March, and a reconciliation was 
effected. 

The peace thus concluded was of short duration. The Indi- 
ans continued to commit depredations upon the property of 
the settlers, and especially was this the case upon Staten 
Island. Many of them still held their residence there, and 
could not resist the temptation to appropriate the products of 
the agricultural skill and labor of their white neighbors, which 
were so much superior in quantity, quality and variety to their 
own. Remonstrances had proved ineffectual, and it became 
necessary to adopt severer measures. In addition to this, the 
Raritans, who were the offending tribe, had interrupted the 
communication between the two shores of the river at New 
Amsterdam, and it had become perilous to attempt to land 
on the west shore. Early in 1644 an expedition against the 
Staten Island Indians was organized. It consisted of forty 
burghers under Joachim Pietersen Kuyter ; thirty-five Eng- 
lishmen under Lieutenant Baxter, and several soldiers from 
the fort under Sergeant Peter Cock, the whole being under 
the command of Counsellor La Montagne. They embarked 



24 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

after dark, and at a late hour landed upon the Island. They 
marched all night, and when the morning dawned, had ar- 
rived at the place where they expected to find the Indians, 
but there were none there. Secretly as the whole enterprise 
had been conducted, the savages had discovered it and es- 
caped. The troops, after burning the village, returned, tak- 
ing with them over five hundred schepels of corn.* 

Notwithstanding the successful trade which had been car- 
ried on in peltries, and the large amounts which had been 
realized therefrom, the several successive directors, the 
patroons, and even the company at home, had men employed 
in the search after the precious metals ; the discovery of one 
or two places which yielded a substance supposed to be 
silver, created considerable excitement. The Indians pos- 
sessed a peculiar substance with which they painted their 
faces on important occasions, and the Director, having 
obtained a specimen of it, submitted it to the test of the 
crucible, and the result was iron pyrites, though he called it 
gold. An expedition was sent to the Neversink mountains 
to procure a quantity of a certain metal to be found there, 
which, together with specimens from various other places, were 
shipped for Holland, but the ship foundered at sea. An 
expedition was also sent to Staten Island to examine the iron 
mine there ; this was the mine on Toad Hill, in the vicinity 
of the Moravian Church. The hill was then known as the 
Iron Hill, and is alluded to by that name in some of the 
earliest conveyances recorded in the country, and especially 
in the patent of Governor Dongan to John Palmer. So im- 
portant was this mine considered, that the Company at 
Amsterdam in 1645 proposed to send a qualified person to 
examine it. " It was worked to some extent at a very early 
period. 

The history of New Netherlands under the early Dutch 
Directors, or Governors, consists of little else than a history 
of the outrages committed by the whites and savages upon 

* Vide App. N. (7.) 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 25 

each other, the former being in most instances, directly or 
indirectly, the aggressors. They were also the principal 
sufferers, because, though they were better armed, they were 
fewer in number, and had more to lose. They appear to 
have not remembered that the success of their trading enter- 
prises depended chiefly upon the friendship of the Indians. 
The Directors of the Company at home were peculiarly 
unfortunate in their selection of Directors for the colony ; 
none of them, unless we except the last, Stuyvesant, under- 
stood the object for which they were sent out ; their chief 
aim and purpose was to annihilate the neighboring tribes, a 
measure which at the same time would have annihilated the 
fur trade also. Prominent among the few who compre- 
hended the situation, and understood what course of policy 
would have been best for the colony, was the minister, 
Dominie Bogardus, and De Vries, the patroon of part of 
Staten Island. They were strongly opposed to the course 
pursued by the Directors in their dealings with the Indians, 
and the event showed the wisdom of the policy of forbear- 
ance and conciliation which ihey recommended. So persist- 
ent were they in pressing their views upon the authorities, 
that they excited their anger, and were charged with a design 
of ingratiating themselves into the favor of the Indians for 
selfish purposes, and to the prejudice of the interests of the 
colony at large. The Indians understood these men and re- 
cognized them as friends, and when, in one of the raids they 
made upon the settlers on the Island, they had killed some 
of De Vries' cattle without knowing to whom they belonged, 
they expressed their regret for the act, calling him the friend 
of the Indians. At another time, when a difficulty had 
occurred with some of the Long Island Indians, and Kieft 
found himself in a dilemma, he was very desirous of making 
peace with them, but he could find no ambassador who was 
willing to trust himself in their power, until De Vries offered 
to visit them for the purpose. He was hospitably received, 
and when his mission was explained to them, and they were 
requested to visit the Director at the fort in New Amsterdam, 



26 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

they refused to go until lie had pledged himself for their 
safety. 

For many years the traffic with the Indians for peltries had 
been exceedingly profitable, and large fortunes had been 
secured by many of the traders, but in the course of time, as 
the articles of the Indian's traffic became scarcer, and the 
value of the Dutch commodities depreciated in consequence 
of their abundance, the trade gradually decreased, until at 
length, the cost of sustaining the colony was greater than its 
revenues, and the West India Company found itself rapidly 
descending to the verge of bankruptcy. These misfortunes 
were charged to the incompetency of the colonial Directors, 
and Kieft came in for a large share of the censure. He was 
accordingly summoned home in 1647, to give an account of 
his stewardship. In obedience to this summons he took pass- 
age in the ship Princess, but was shipwrecked on the coast of 
Wales, and perished. 

It has already been said that the Indians were always ready 
to sell the Island. In 1680 they sold it to Michael Pauw ; 
shortly after they sold a part to David Pietersen De Vries ; 
in 1641 to Cornells Melyn ; in 1651 to August Heermans ; in 
1657 to Baron Van Cappelan, and in 1670 to Governor Love- 
lace. To this last sale they were obliged to adhere ; there 
was probably a little more ceremony about it, which rendered 
the transaction more impressive. It is said that in delivering 
possession, they presented a sod and a shrub or branch of 
every kind of tree which grew upon the island, except the ash 
and elder, some say ash and hickory. In one of these sales, 
the price was paid in goods as follows : 20 fathoms of cloth, 
2 coats, 2 guns, 5 kettles, 10 bars of lead ; 20 handsfull of 
powder, 400 fathoms of white wampum and 200 of black ; 
it has been computed by a local annalist* that the price, in 
cash, was about one mill an acre, or ten acres for one cent ; 
in this sale was included a large tract in New Jersey.f 

* Vide App. N. (8.) f Ibid. (9.) 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 27 



CHAPTER V. 

Appointment, arrival and character of Stuyvesant — His silver leg — Disputes re- 
specting Boundaries — Disputes between Melyn and Kieft — Melyn's Troubles 
with. Stuyvesant — His sentence, and the reversal thereof — Stuyvesant sum- 
moned to Holland to answer — Sends his Attorneys — Local troubles — Charges 
against Stuyvesant by the English — Early condition of the Island. 

In 1647, Petrus Stuyvesant succeeded William Kieft as 
Director- General of New Netherland. He is represented as 
having been a very honest and brave man. He had served 
his country before as Vice- Director at Curacoa, and in an at- 
tack on the Portuguese at St. Martin' s, had lost a leg, which 
loss was supplied by a wooden substitute, bound with silver 
bands — hence it was said that he had a silver leg. It is also 
said that he was a man of more than ordinary literary attain- 
ments. His earliest efforts were directed to conciliate the In- 
dians, and in this he was so successful that he excited the 
jealously of the neighboring English colonies, between whom 
and the Dutch, unpleasant differences with regard to bound- 
ary lines had for a long time existed. The English pretended 
to believe that the object of the Dutch governor was to attach 
the surrounding tribes to himself, for the purpose of inciting 
them to a general massacre of the English colonists. But 
Stuyvesant, with a sagacity superior to their own, had another 
object in view ; he foresaw trouble with England and a prob- 
able war between that country and his own, and consequently 
between his colony and its neighbors, in the event of which 
the assistance of the Indians would have been invaluable if 
not indispensable. Fortunately, however, Cromwell and the 
States-General arranged all their difficulties, and the war 
cloud for the time was dispersed. No harm, however, had 
been done in conciliating the savages ; indeed, it was Stuy- 
vesant' s desire and policy to live in peace with all his neigh- 
bors, civilized or savage. 



28 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

During the early years of the new Director' s administration, 
the disputes between him and the governors of the several 
neighboring colonies, respecting boundaries, jurisdictions and 
various other matters, assumed proportions which bid fair to 
become serious, but as they form no part of the history of the 
Island, we pass them by for matters in which we are more 
directly interested. 

During the administration of Kieft, Melyn, the patroon of 
Staten Island, lived in a state of unremitting hostility with 
him. Having adopted, in a great measure, the policy of De 
Vries in the treatment of the Indians, though not as success- 
fully,- he found himself in almost constant collision with Kieft, 
who was prompt to notice and avenge every act of the savages 
which he could torture into a hostile demonstration, and thus 
during the whole five years he controlled the destinies of the 
colony, his hands were reeking with the blood of hundreds of 
the natives, shed in collisions usually provoked by himself. 
De Vries had frequently warned him that Heaven would not 
permit the blood of so many of these children of nature to 
be thus causelessly shed without condign punishment — words 
which, with the ex-Director' s end in view, were prophetic. 

Kieft continued to reside at New Amsterdam for a short 
time after he had been superseded, and Melyn improved the 
opportunity to prefer charges against him. Stuyvesant, 
though on the whole disposed to deal justly with all men, 
would brook no direct attack upon the dignity Gf the Direc- 
torship, either in his own person or in that of his predecessor, 
and this was the light in which he chose to regard Melyn' s 
complaint ; perhaps, too, Kieft had improved the opportuni- 
ties offered by a daily intercourse to prejudice the Director 
against the patroon in advance ; it is certain, however, that 
when Melyn' s charges were preferred, they were met by 
counter- charges from the ex-Director, among which was one 
that Melyn had said he could get no justice from Kieft ; 
however true the assertion might have been in that instance, 
it proved quite true in the present, for after a long inves- 
tigation, the Attorney- Gfeneral expressed an opinion that both 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 29 

Melyn and Kuyter, who had also been implicated in the 
charges, ought to suffer death. The Director, however, 
knowing that his public acts were likely to be reviewed, was 
unwilling to inflict a pe nalty so severe, yet, though he pro- 
fessed to coincide with the opinion of the Attorney- General, 
he was disposed to deal more leniently with them ; he there- 
fore, with the consent of the majority of the counsel, con- 
demned Melyn to a banishment of seven years, and a fine of 
three hundred guilders,* and Kuyter to three years' banish- 
ment, and a fine of one hundred and fifty guilders. 

In accordance with this sentence, the defendants were sent 
to Holland. The attention of the government was immediate- , 
ly called to the manner in which justice was administered in 
the colony, by an appeal which the banished patroon and 
his associates had taken on their arrival. An elaborate inves- 
tigation followed, and the sentence was reversed ; the Direc- 
tor was also censured, and required to return home and 
answer for his arbitrary conduct. Melyn, armed with the 
necessary documents, returned triumphantly to New Am- 
sterdam, and had the satisfaction of serving them upon the 
Director in person. The reply was, "I highly respect the 
authorities of my country, and with all deference I will obey 
their commands, but I shall appear by attorney, and not in 
person." Melyn was not content with a verbal reply, but re- 
quired one in writing. This, however, was refused. These 
proceedings on the part of the patroon were far from mol- 
lifying the Director ; and, as he had proved to be a dan- 
gerous man to meddle with arbitrarily, he gratified his 
animosity by acts of hostility to his antagonist's family. 
Jacob Loper, the son-in-law of the patroon, who had served 
under Stuyvesant in the West Indies, applied for permis- 
sion to make a trading voyage to South River, Delaware, 
but it was peremptorily refused. The council, however, 
probably apprehensive of another appeal and reversal, fa- 
vored the application ; but the Director obstinately refused, 
and said, "He shall not go." 

VideApp. N. (10.) 



30 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

Cornelius Van Tienhoven and Jan Jansen were sent to 
represent the Director before the authorities at home, but 
Melyn followed them, resolved that they should take no 
advantage by reason of his absence. Stuyvesant's repre- 
sentatives appeared before the tribunal which had cited him, 
to answer for and defend the acts of their principal. It was 
not, they said, so much for remonstrating against Kieft's 
Indian policy, as for disrespectful words and conduct towards 
his superior officers, that Melyn was punished. Their argu- 
ments in behalf of their principal do not appear to have had 
much weight ; the opinion of the court was that Melyn had 
been seriously injured in his property and person for no 
crime, and indeed for no cause whatever, except that it might 
have been a difference of opinion with the Director. 

In the meantime, the trade of the colony having become 
unremunerative, the government at home involved in political 
complications with other powers, and Stuyvesant himself 
annoyed by the encroachments of his English neighbors on 
the east and the predatory acts of the savages on all other 
sides, had no time to devote to private grievances. Melyn' s 
matters were left in abeyance. The difficulties which sur- 
rounded the perplexed Director were of no trifling character. 
He was charged by the English colonists with endeavoring to 
instigate the Indians to massacre them ; with giving them 
arms and ammunition for that purpose ; with claiming territory 
on the Connecticut river as belonging to the Dutch ; with 
prohibiting Englishmen from settling on the South, or Dela- 
ware river, on a like pretence ; with an intention of poisoning 
and bewitching them, and that, through the assistance of an 
Indian he had engaged as an " artist," to practice his art upon 
them, which would have succeeded had not the conjuror 
been detected and slain ; with furnishing the Indians with 
wild fire and rum ; with instigating the Indians to contemn 
the English ; and many other charges of an equally serious 
character. It was evident that the English were seeking an 
opportunity to quarrel with their Dutch neighbors, and all 
Stuyvesant's disclaimers, explanations and proofs went, for 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 31 

nothing ; the charges continued to be iterated and reiterated 
during the whole term of his administration. 

We pause here, in the course of our narrative, for a brief 
space, to take a view of the condition of our Island at this 
early period. The first dwelling houses erected on the Island, 
after the removal of the Walloons to Long Island, were in the 
vicinity of the Narrows, or between that and Old Town, which 
is so called, probably, from that circumstance, and were not 
more than five or six in number. There was one, probably, 
at the extreme south end, and one or two at Fresh Kill. Sub- 
sequently, in 1661, when the Waldenses arrived, and, after 
them, the Huguenots, the settlements at Old Town and Fresh 
Kill received accessions. Before their arrival there were no 
roads, except, perhaps, foot-paths through the forest, between 
the two last-mentioned localities ; there was no need of any, 
for the intercourse of the Islanders was only with New Am- 
sterdam. After the settlements at Old Town and Fresh Kill 
had received accessions, intercourse between them became 
more frequent, and, in due course of time, the road from the 
one to the other was constructed ; particularly after the Wal- 
denses had built their church at Stoney Brook, and the 
Huguenots theirs at Fresh Kill. 

The houses were built in clusters, or hamlets, for conveni- 
ence in mutual defence and protection. Tradition says 
that one of the first dwellings on the Island was situated 
on the heights at New Brighton, and was constructed of 
bricks imported from Holland, and occupied, for a time, 
at least, by a prominent official of the government. If 
there is any truth in the tradition, the house was, prob- 
ably, the residence of De Yries, who, feeling secure in the 
friendship of the Indians, ventured to erect his dwelling 
in that beautiful, but remote, locality. That the builder's 
confidence in the Indians was not misplaced, the same 
-tradition further says that, in 1655, when the great Indian 
war broke out, and the Island was nearly depopulated, 
this house, and its occupants, were spared. In the latter 
part of the last century, and in the beginning of the pres- 



32 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

ent, all the territory embraced in the first, and most of 
the second wards of the present Village of New Brighton, 
constituted farms owned by the families of the Van Bus- 
kirks, Crocherons, and Vreelands ; these farms extended 
from the Kills one mile into the country. Abraham Cro- 
cheron, the owner of one of them, erected a grist mill in 
the valley east of Jersey Street, relying for a supply of 



.* 



water upon the spring now known as the Hessian spring ? 
but, this not proving sufficient, he converted his grist mill 
into a snuff mill, for which the supply was abundant. 
About the same time Captain Thomas Lawrence built a 
distillery on a small wharf which nows forms a part of the 
present large New Brighton wharf. Long before this part of 
the Island was patented to any individual, and laid out into 
farms, and while it was yet covered with the original forests, 
there was a deep ravine, extending from the spring mentioned 
above, to the Kills, into which the tide ebbed and flowed, and 
which, in the days of the Dutch and early English governors, 
afforded a place of concealment for the smugglers who 
infested the coast. The face of the country has now become 
materially changed, by cutting down the hills and filling up 
the valleys. 

In process of time, as settlers arrived, they located along 
the shores, and roads became a necessity ; these at first were 
constructed along the shores, until at length cross roads for 
convenience of communication between the several settlements 
were constructed. Some of these old roads have been closed, 
but the Clove road is the only original one now left. 

*Vide App. N. (11.) 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 33 



CHAPTER VI. 

A " Hard Winter " — Melyn's Character — His return to America — Sale of the 
Ship and Cargo — Van Dincklagen — War between England and Holland — Stuy- 
vesant's Perplexities — Ferry Rates — John De Decker — Stuyvesant's Proclama- 
ation against Preachers — Indian War of 1655 — Staten Island ravaged — Melyn 
forsakes the Colony — Sells his title to the Island — Waldenses and Huguenots 
settle on the Island — Dom. Drisius — Defence of Melyn — Kieft's Shipwreck and 
Death. 

The winter of 1650 is noted in colonial history for its severity ; 
the Kills and Sound were frozen ; there was also a great 
scarcity of provisions, and the people suffered for every neces- 
sary of life except fuel ; that alone was abundant. One writer 
says that it was so cold that the ink froze in the pen as he 
was writing. There were other winters also remarkable for 
their severity, which will be noticed hereafter. 

To return to Melyn. He has been called "an unprincipled 
adventurer," but we have failed to find anything in his public 
life in the colony to warrant such a conclusion ; on the con- 
trary, as a member of the Council he persistently advocated 
moderate measures in all transactions with the Indians, and 
in the management of his own affairs he as persistently in- 
sisted upon his chartered rights, and adopted only legal 
measures to defend them. Notwithstanding his successful 
appeal to the authorities at home — notwithstanding the rever- 
sal of the sentence imposed upon him by Stuyvesant, and 
the censure implied in such reversal, as well as the direct 
citation to appear and answer for his arbitrary and illegal 
proceedings, his persecutions still continued. In the Spring, 
Melyn and some twenty colonists took passage in the ship 
"New Netherlands Fortune," Captain Adrian Post, the ship 
and cargo belonging to the Baron Van Capellan. Melyn had 
no venture of his own in the vessel, but his colonists were 
supplied with agricultural implements belonging to them- 
selves. 



34 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

The passage was one of extraordinary length and more than 
usually boisterous, and they were obliged to put into Rhode 
Island for supplies ; they did not reach , Manhattan until in 
the Winter. Making this stop at Rhode Island the occasion 
for another prosecution, Stuyvesant seized the ship under the 
pretext that it belonged to Melyn, and caused it and the 
cargo to be sold. The harassed patroon immediately with- 
drew to his "colonie" on Staten Island, from whence he was 
summoned by Stuyvesant to appear, and answer to new 
charges which had been preferred against him. This sum- 
mons he positively refused to obey, and a lot of land, with a 
house upon it, in New Amsterdam, belonging to him, was 
declared confiscated, and accordingly was sold. Melyn now 
fortified himself on the Island and established a manorial 
court. The ship was sold to Thomas Willet, who sent it on 
a voyage to Virginia, and thence to Holland, where Van 
Cappelan replevined it, and after a protracted law suit, the 
West India Company was obliged to pay a large sum in con- 
sequence of the illegal act of its representative and servant in 
New Netherland. 

Among the charges preferred against Melyn were the fol- 
lowing : that he had distributed arms amongst the Indians, 
and had endeavored to excite hostile feelings towards the Di- 
rector among some of the river tribes. When he left Hol- 
land, the patroon had taken the precaution of furnishing 
himself with a "safe conduct," as it was called, which was a 
sort of protection against further aggressions on the part of 
Stuyvesant ; to this, however, he paid little regard when he 
had the patroon in his power ; but now that he had proved 
contumacious by refusing to appear, and putting himself into 
his enemy' s power, the Director scarcely dared venture to ar- 
rest by force one who was protected by a document of such au- 
thority ; he therefore affected to be alarmed for his own per- 
sonal safety, and applied to the Council for protection, who 
granted him a body guard of four halbidiers, to attend him 
whenever he went abroad. Van Dincklagen, the Vice-Di- 
rector, had been instrumental in assisting both Van Cappelan 



ANNALS OP STATEN ISLAND. 35 

and Melyn in promoting the successful settlement of Staten 
Island ; he therefore fell under the displeasure of the Direct- 
or, who ordered him to resign, or the council to expel him 
from their body, but he refused to resign, and defied the 
Council to expel him, as they had no more power to deprive 
him of his office than the Director himself, as both held 
their commissions from the same authority at home. Never- 
theless, he was arrested and imprisoned in the guard-house, 
and the counsel who had defended him was forbidden to 
practice his profession in the colony. After the lapse of 
several days, the Vice-Director was liberated, and immedi- 
ately took up his residence with Melyn on Staten Island. 
These events occurred in 1651. War now broke out be- 
tween England and the States-G-eneral, and Stuyvesant 
found sufficient occupation to engross his time and atten- 
tion, in preparing to defend himself against the anticipated 
troubles with the neighboring English colonies, and 
the treachery of the English residing under his own 
government, notwithstanding the oaths of allegiance which 
they had taken. These latter, when they learned that Crom- 
well intended to send a fleet to America, for the purpose of 
subverting the Dutch governments there, entered into cor- 
respondence with the English colonial authorities, and but for 
the dilatory proceedings of Massachusetts, something disas- 
trous might have resulted therefrom ; but the ratification of a 
peace between the belligerents in April, 1654, and the conse- 
quent proclamation of the Protector inhibiting all English 
subjects from acts of hostility to the Dutch, put an end to 
their designs. A heavy burden was thus taken from the 
shoulders of Stuyvesant, and "Richard was himself again." 
He was now at liberty to devote himself to home bickerings, in 
which his soul appeared to delight. Among these were the 
Long Island ferry troubles, which sometimes proved to be of 
serious inconvenience to the people residing on either side of 
the water. After numerous and protracted discussions, 
regular rates were finally established, and though not connect- 
ed with our task, we give a list of them as a curiosity. They 



36 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

were as follows : for a wagon and horses, 2 guilders and 10 
stuyvers, equal to one dollar ; for a single wagon, 2 guilders — 
80 cents ; a horse or horned beast, 1 guilder and 10 stuyvers — 
60 cents ; for an Indian, male or female, 6 stuyvers — 12 cents ; 
each other person 3 stuyvers — 6 cents. 

In the month of April, 1655, arrived Johannes De Decker, 
a young man of excellent reputation, who had officiated in 
some public capacity at Schiedam, bringing with him a letter 
from the Directors of the West India Company, recommend- 
ing him to the first vacant "honorable office." He came as 
supercargo of the ship Black Eagle. The Vice-Director, 
Dyckman, at Fort Orange, having become insane, De Decker 
was appointed to succeed him, "to preside in Fort Orange 
and the village of Beaverwyck, in the Court of Justice of the 
Commissaries, to administer all the affairs of police and 
justice as circumstances may require, in conformity to the 
instructions given by the Director- General and Council, and 
to promote these for the best service of the country and the 
prosperity of the inhabitants." A responsible situation for a 
young man and a stranger, but he proved equal to the 
emergency. Whilst he was discharging these several duties, 
Stuyvesant issued a proclamation against unauthorized 
preachers, from whom nothing could be expected but ' ' dis- 
cord, confusion and disorder in church and state." On the 
reception of this proclamation, De Decker issued another of a 
similar character, and rigidly enforced it. This act of the 
Director, when the knowledge of it reached Holland, was 
severely rebuked, and he was forbidden thereafter to interfere 
with the free exercise of religion. The next year, 1656, De 
Decker returned to Holland, where he married, and in 1657 
returned to New Netherland. He had acquired a title to 120 
acres of land on Staten Island, but probably by reason of 
some dispute with Stuyvesant, he was dispossessed, and, it is 
said, banished ; if so, he must either have been recalled, or 
had his sentence reversed, as in the case of Melyn, for we 
find him in the colony at the time when the English wrested 
it from the possession of the Dutch, and acting in the capacity 



AISHSTALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 37 

of commissioner for arranging the terms of surrender, by 
Stuyvesant's own appointment. 

This Johannes De Decker is regarded as the progenitor of 
the numerous and respectable families of the Deckers now- 
residing on the Island, and in many other places. He was 
a man of a most resolute character, with a disposition almost 
as obstinate as that of Stuyvesant himself, and of respect- 
able acquirements. 

During the year 1655, another and more serious calamity be- 
fell Staten Island than any which had preceded it. Hendrick 
Van Dyck, former attorney -general at New Amsterdam, on 
rising one morning, discovered a squaw in his garden stealing 
peaches ; in a moment of anger he seized his gun and shot 
her, killing her instantly. Of this rash act, little, if any 
notice, was taken by the authorities, but the Indians did not 
overlook it ; immediate measures were taken by them to 
avenge the outrage. Several of the neighboring tribes united, 
and early on the morning of the 15th of September sixty -four 
canoes, containing nineteen hundred savages, suddenly ap- 
peared before New Amsterdam. They landed and dispersed 
through the various streets, while many of the people were 
still asleep. As soon as they were discoverd, an alarm was 
sounded. The officers of the colony and city, and many of 
the principal inhabitants, assembled, and the leaders of the 
savages were requested to meet with them, which they did ; 
they accounted for their sudden appearance under pretext of 
searching for some hostile northern Indians, who, they pre- 
tended they had been informed, were either in the city or its 
vicinity. After much persuasion they were induced to promise 
to leave Manhattan Island at sunset, but when evening came 
they were still there, and manifested no disposition to leave. 
They became unruly, and the people became excited, and 
violent acts were committed by both parties ; Van Dyck, the 
thoughtless author of the trouble, paid the penalty of his 
rashness by being killed with an arrow, and Paulus Leinder- 
stein Van Der Grist, one of the city officials, was killed by a 
blow with an axe. The soldiers in the fort and the city guard 



38 AISHSTALS OF STATED ISLAND. 

were called out, and attacked the invaders, driving them back 
to their canoes. Crossing the river, the savages attacked the 
settlements there and killed or captured most of the people. 
Thence they went to Staten Island, which at that time had a 
population of ninety souls and eleven flourishing bouweries ; 
twenty -two of the people were killed, and all of the remainder 
who did not escape were carried away captive, and the bouw- 
eries were desolated. The Indians continued their ravages 
three days, during which they killed one hundred whites, 
took one hundred and fifty prisoners, and ruined three hun- 
dred more in their estates. The damages were estimated at 
two hundred thousand guilders, or about eighty thousand 
dollars, an enormous sum at that day. The whole country 
became alarmed, and people from all directions flocked to 
New Amsterdam for safety, but even here they were not 
secure, for the Indians prowled over the Island by day and 
by night, slaying all within their reach. 

Stuy vesant, in the meantime, was at South River, Delaware, 
whither he had gone to remove some Swedish intruders on 
the Company' s lands ; but as soon as the news of the out- 
break reached him, he returned and adopted such measures 
as the exigency seemed to require. Ships in port were stopped, 
and all on board were impressed into service ; armed men 
were sent to the surrounding settlements, and the defences of 
the fort were enlarged and strengthened. The savages, find- 
ing so many prisoners a burden to them, sent Post, who had 
been superintendent at Staten Island, and whom they had 
captured, to negotiate for their ransom. Fourteen prisoners 
were sent in by one chief, who demanded some ammunition 
in exchange, which was sent ; then twenty-eight were returned 
on the same condition, and finally, after a protracted negotia- 
tion, they were all, or nearly all, set at liberty, Three years 
after this event, Staten Island had not yet recovered from its 
effects. 

Melyn, discouraged by the difficulties which he was con- 
stantly doomed to encounter, and despairing of ever coming 
to terms with Stuy vesant, forsook New Netherland and re- 



ANNALS OF STATED ISLAND. 39 

moved to New Haven, where he took the oath of allegiance. 
Van Cappelan, however, did what he could to induce the 
affrighted people to return to their desolated homes, and sent 
out new colonists. These efforts were made by Van Dinck- 
lagen, his agent. To avert the probability of another attack, 
he negotiated another purchase of the Island from the Indians, 
and made a treaty with them. These proceedings on his 
part were disapproved by the Directors of .the Company at 
home, who insisted that all settlers' titles should come through 
them ; Stuyvesant was therefore directed to declare the late 
purchase void, to secure the Indian title for the Company, 
and then to convey to Van Cappelan what land he might re- 
quire. 

In 1661 Melyn returned to Holland, and in consideration of 
fifteen hundred guilders (six hundred dollars), conveyed all 
his interest in Staten Island to the West India Company ; he 
was also granted an amnesty for all offences which had been 
charged upon him by either Stuyvesant or his predecessor. 
Van Cappelan being dead, the Company also purchased all 
the title he had to any part of the Island during his life- time, 
and thus became the possessors of the whole of it. Soon 
thereafter the Company made grants of land to several French 
Waldenses, and a still greater number of Huguenots from 
Rochelle, the descendants of whom are still residents here, 
and in a few instances still occupying the identical grants 
made to their ancestors. About a dozen families commenced 
a settlement south of the Narrows. In 1663 they built a 
block-house as a defence against the Indians, and placed 
within it a garrison of ten men, and armed it with two small 
cannons. At the request of these settlers, Dominie Drisius, 
of New Amsterdam, visited them every two months and 
preached to them in French, performing also the other func- 
tions of his calling. Rev. Samuel Drisius was sent to Amer- 
ica by the Classis of Amsterdam, in 1654, at the request of the 
people, who desired a minister who could preach to them 
either in Dutch or French, which he was able to do. On his 
arrival at New Amsterdem he was at once installed as the 



40 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

colleague of the Rev. Johannes Megapolensis, who had re- 
sided in the country since 1642. Drisius continued to officiate 
at New Amsterdam and on Staten Island until 1671. 

Before we take our final leave of the patroon of our 
Island, Cornelis Melyn, it is necessary to say a word or 
two in his defence. He was charged with many crimes, 
which are but echoes of the charges made by both Kieft 
and Stuyvesant against him. In a work entitled, " Breeden 
Maedt, aen de mrenigfide NederlanscTie Provintien," orig- 
inally published at Antwerp, 1649, and extracts from a 
translation of which are printed in the fourth volume of the 
Documentary History of New York, it is said Cornelis 
Melyn was charged, in his sentence, with more crimes than 
Kuyter, and punished more severely, (because Kieft had 
formerly flattered himself that he should have a part with 
him in Staten Island : and, finding himself deceived, he 
had been obliged to make other conditions with other per- 
sons ; and Kieft played him this trick, as was afterwards 
proved) — and he was found guilty of crimen Icesas majes- 
tatis, crimen falsi, crimen of libel and defamation, and, 
on that account, was to forfeit all benefits derived from 
the Company, or which he might still claim, a penalty of 
300 guilders, and to be banished from New Netherland for 
the term of seven years ; so that those who had accused 
Kieft were kicked out and sent away by Stuyvesant. It 
is well known that, when Director Kieft was reminded that 
these suits would, most probably, have taken another turn 
in Holland, he replied: "Why should we alarm each 
other with justice in Holland? — in this case I only consider 
it as a scare-crow." And Stuyvesant replied: "If I was 
persuaded that you would appeal from my sentences, or 
divulge them, I would have your head cut off, or have 
you hanged on the highest tree in New Netherland." He 
also inveighed so furiously that the foam hung on his 
beard. The}' were brought on board like criminals, and 
torn away from their goods, their wives, and their chil- 
dren. The Princess (the name of the ship) was to carry 



ANNALS of staten island. 41 

the Director and these two faithful patriots away from 
New Netherland ; but, coming into the wrong channel, it 
struck upon a rock, and was wrecked. And now, this 
wicked Kieft, seeing death before his eyes, sighed deeply, 
and, turning to these two (Melyn and Kuyter), said : 
"Friends, I have been unjust towards you; can you for- 
give me?" Towards morning the ship was broken to 
pieces. Among those drowned were Melyn' s son, the min- 
ister, Bogardus, Kieft, Captain John De Vries, and a great 
number of other persons. Much treasure was lost, as Kieft 
was on his return with a fortune of four hundred thousand 
guilders— 160,000 dollars. 



42 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 



CHAPTEE VII 



Tlie Province wrested from the Dutch by the English — A change of masters — 
De Decker banished — New Grants on Staten Island — Elizabethtown settled — 
The establishment of Courts — Berkley and Cartaret's patent — Nicolls sur- 
prised and indignant — Treaty of Breda — Nicolls' resignation, and appoint- 
ment of Lovelace. 



It is not our purpose to approve or disapprove of the 
seizure of the Dutch territories by the English, to which 
period we have now in due course arrived ; whether it re- 
dounded to the benefit or injury of the people, we shall not 
attempt to demonstrate ; Clarendon pronounced it "without 
any shadow of justice." England, in a time of profound 
peace, determined to annihilate the Dutch government on 
the continent of America, and she did it. She was already 
in possession of all that extensive country lying between the 
Spanish province of Florida and Delaware bay, and that 
other large tract lying between the Connecticut river and the 
French territories on the North, and now the king, with a 
deliberation as cool as if he owned it, patented to his bro- 
ther, the Duke of York and Albany, all the intervening 
territory, which embraced every rod of the Dutch posses- 
sions. Being Lord High Admiral of England, the Duke lost 
no time in despatching four vessels, viz.: the Guinea, of 36 
guns ; the Elias, of 30 ; the Martin, of 16, and the William 
and Nicholas, of 10 guns, with 450 soldiers — the whole under 
the command of Col. Richard Nicolls — to cross the ocean 
and take possession of his newly-acquired domain. Nicolls 
was also to be governor of the territory when he had subju- 
gated it. Commissioners accompanied the expedition, 
furnished with instructions to the English governors in 
America to render such assistance as might be required of 
them. When Stuyvesant heard of the designs of the Eng- 



AISHSTALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 43 

lish, he adopted such measures as the exigency required, so 
far as his means permitted. In August, 1664, the fleet 
arrived in the bay, and anchored near Coney Island. The 
first Dutch property seized by them was on Staten Island, 
where the block house was taken and occupied. On the 30th 
of August, a formal demand for the surrender of New Am- 
sterdam was made, but an immediate submission to the 
demand did not take place. To do Stuyvesant justice, he 
was disposed to fight it out, but the municipal officers and 
the people, believing that resistance would be in vain, op- 
posed his wishes, and desisted from working on the defences. 
Probably for the first time in his life he submitted to the 
popular will. Nicolls had offered to restore the country if 
the respective governments agreed upon the boundaries 
between the Dutch and English territories, an offer which 
he might safely make, as he well knew that the seizure was 
not made with a view to the settlement of any territorial 
limits. Stuyvesant, however, appears to have seen a ray of 
hope in it, and appointed six commissioners, among whom 
was Dom. Megapolensis and Johannes De Decker, to meet a 
like number on the part of the English, to arrange the terms 
of the capitulation. These were just and reasonable, under 
the circumstances ; no change was to be made in the condition 
of the people, but all were to be permitted to enjoy their 
property and their religion to the fullest extent. As no one's 
rights and privileges were to be molested, the people sub- 
mitted to a change of rulers, not only with a good grace, but 
many with satisfaction, as it released them from the over- 
bearing and arbitrary tyranny of the Director. 

Though De Decker had been one of the commissioners who 
agreed to and signed the articles of surrender, yet, when the 
English began to change the names of places, and appoint 
new officers in place of those who had become obnoxious to 
them ; in short, when everything began to assume an English 
aspect, his patriotism began to revolt, and he endeavored in 
some instances to oppose the work of reform which the con- 
querors had initiated. This brought him to the notice of 



44 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

Nicolls, who, to rid himself of a troublesome subject, or- 
dered him to leave the colony withiu ten days. In the course 
of a few months everything became quiet, and the people 
seemed to be content with the new order of things. Unap- 
propriated lands now began to be parcelled out to English 
proprietors, by English authority. Staten Island, already 
settled by the Dutch and French, was now to receive acquisi- 
tion of another nationality. Capt. James Bollen received 
a grant of land on the Island ; the country between the 
Raritan River and Newark Bay was bought anew from the 
savages, and settled by people from Long Island, chiefly along 
Achter Cull, as the Dutch called it, because it was ac7iter, or 
behind the Cull, but now corrupted by the English into Ar- 
thur Kull, and four families from Jamaica began the settle- 
ment of Elizabethtown. Beside Capt. Bollen, Capt. William 

Hill, Lieut. Humphrey Fox and Coleman, all officers of 

the fleet received grants of land on Staten Island, but as the 
vessels to which they were attached were no longer needed, 
and were sent back to England, they had little or no oppor- 
tunity to enjoy their acquisitions. 

Under the Dutch rule, the centre of all authority' was at 
New Amsterdam ; criminals from all the settlements were 
brought there for trial, except from Rensselaerwyck, where the 
patroon assumed supreme judicial authority, an assumption 
which sometimes brought him into collision with the Director, 
who always insisted upon his own snpremacy in all matters. 
It was the policy of the Duke of York to make as few changes 
as possible, and thus reconcile the Dutch settlers, who com- 
prised three-fourths of the people, to the new order of things. 
As the population was likely to increase by emigration, it be- 
came necessary to institute local tribunals, that justice might 
be conveniently dispensed. A Court of Assizes was created, 
having both common law and equity jurisdiction; it was 
comprised of the Governor and his Council, and was the 
supreme tribunal. This did not differ materially from that 
established by the Dutch, in which the Director and his 
Council were supreme. 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 45 

In organizing the political divisions of the colony, Long 
Island, Staten Island and Westchester were all comprised in 
one shire called Yorkshire, and divided into three "Rid- 
ings ;" the territory now comprising Suffolk County was 
called the East Hiding ; Kings County, part of Queens and 
Staten Island, was called the West Riding, and the remainder 
of Queens, with Westchester, the North Riding. The Gov- 
ernor and Council retained the right to appoint a sheriff for 
the whole shire annually, and Justices of the Peace in each 
Riding to hold their office during the Governor's pleasure. 
These Justices held Courts of Sessions in each Riding three 
times a year. In the city the Burgomasters, Schout and 
Schepens, elected by the people, were replaced by a Mayor, 
Alderman and Sheriff, appointed by the Governor. Thomas 
Willett was the first Mayor. ( Vide Appendix D.) 

When it was known in England that New Netherland 
had been reduced, and was now actually in the possession of 
the English, Lord William Berkley and Sir George Cartaret, 
two of the royal favorites, induced the Duke of York, 
probably influenced by the king, to give them a patent for 
the territory west of the Hudson and the bay, and as far 
south as Cape May ; this they named Nova Csesarea, or New 
Jersey. With thirty emigrants, English and French, Capt. 
Philip Cartaret, a cousin of Sir George, and governor of the 
new territory, sailed for New York, but by stress of weather 
was driven into the Chesapeake. While lying there he for- 
warded despatches to Bollen, who was commissary at the fort 
in New York, and also to Nicolls. This was the first intima- 
tion the Governor had received of the dismemberment of the 
extensive territory over which he ruled ; he was both as- 
tounded and chagrined ; he had already conveyed several 
parcels of land within the limits of the new grant, and re- 
garded the whole as the best part of the Duke's domain. 
He remonstrated, but his remonstrances came too late ; the 
Duke evidently thought he had been too precipitate, but as 
he could not well retrace his steps, he suffered matters to re- 
main as they were. Cartaret arrived in New York about 



46 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

midsummer, 1665, and immediately took possession of his 
government. He chose Elizabethtown as his capital. It is 
said that when he first landed on the soil of New Jersey, he 
carried a hoe upon his shoulder, in token of his intention to 
devote his attention to the promotion of agriculture. 

It is not to be supposed that the Dutch quietly submit- 
ted to be robbed of a territory which they had occupied so 
long, and which had, cost them so much. Remonstrances, 
of course, followed the perpetration of the outrage — for as 
such it was regarded throughout Europe, — but they availed 
nothing. War was declared. Louis, of France, though 
disposed to friendship with Charles, of England, was under 
a treaty obligation to assist Holland in the event of a war 
with England, and he, accordingly, declared war against 
England also. This step was followed by vigorous prep- 
arations for the defence of the French territories in America. 
Jt is not our province to follow the events of this war, which 
lasted until the summer of 1667, when a peace was concluded 
between the belligerents, by what is known in history as the 
Treaty of Breda. By the terms of this treaty, the Dutch lost 
New Netherland, but obtained what they regarded as fully 
equivalent, valuable possessions in the East Indies. 

In 1668, Nicolls, by his own request, was relieved of the gov- 
ernment of the province, and was succeeded by Colonel 
Francis Lovelace. Thomas Lovelace, whose official signature 
is appended to so many of the old documents connected with 
the conveyance of property on Staten Island, and otherwise, 
and who at one time was sheriff of the county, was a brother 
to the Governor, and a member of his Council ; there was 
also another brother, named Dudley, likewise a member of the 
Council. 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 47 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Tradition and legitimate History — Doubts as to the proprietorship of the Island 
— Circumnavigated — Christopher Billop — The Bentley Manor— The Bil lop fami- 
ly — Tomb-stone Records — Errors of Dunlap corrected — Col. Billop's capture 
and imprisonment. 

We have now arrived at an interesting period in the history 
. of Staten Island, and in presenting it we shall be under the 
necessity of mingling, in some measure, tradition with legiti- 
mate history, and of correcting some errors into which some of 
the prominent historians of the State have fallen. 

As the history of one of the most prominent families of 
this period is involved, we shall also be under the necessity 
of anticipating, in some degree, the chronological order of 
events. 

After the Duke of York had conveyed the territory of 
New Jersey to Berkley and Cartaret, a doubt arose whether 
Staten Island was not included in the grant, by the terms of 
the charter. Cartaret, the governor, not the proprietor, laid 
no claim to the Island ; on the contrary, he tacitly admitted 
that it did not belong to his jurisdiction, by accepting a con- 
veyance for a tract of land on the Island from Mcolls the 
Duke of York' s agent ; this he would scarcely have done, 
had he considered his brother the proprietor. In 1668 the 
Island " was adjudged to belong to New York," because one 
of the outlets of Hudson river ran around the Island ; while 
Berkley and Cartaret, by the terms of their patent, were 
bounded by the river and bay. The Dutch always appear to 
have regarded the inner bay or harbor as a mere expansion 
of the river, and the Narrows as its mouth. In their docu- 
ments, Staten Island is frequently described as lying in the 
river. If this view was correct, the Island evidently belonged 
to New Jersey, because it was embraced within its limits. 



48 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

The Duke of York himself appears to have had his doubts 
about the matter, for it is said, that when this question of 
jurisdiction was first agitated, he decided that all islands lying 
in the river, or harbor, which could be circumnavigated in 
twenty-four hours, should remain in his jurisdiction, other- 
wise to New Jersey. 

Christopher Billop, being then in the harbor in command 
of a small ship called the Bentley, which it is also said he 
owned, undertook the task of sailing around the Island, and 
accomplished it within twenty-four hours, thus securing it to 
the Duke, who, in gratitude for the service rendered him, be- 
stowed upon Billop a tract of 1163 acres of land in the ex-, 
treme southern part of the Island, which was called the 
"Manor of Bentley," after the ship which had accomplished 
the task. Here Billop built his Manor house, which has 
withstood the storms of more than two centuries, and is said 
to be in good condition at the present day. Important 
events, not only in the history of the Island, but in that of 
the country, have transpired in this house, to some of which 
we shall have occasion to refer hereafter. In 1674 the Duke 
of York 5 by permission of the king, organized a company of 
infantry of one hundred men ; of this company Christopher 
Billop was commissioned second lieutenant. He had served 
his king before his arrival in America, but in what capacity 
is not known ; his father, however, was not well spoken of. 
In 1677 Billop, while residing on his plantation on Staten 
Island, was appointed by Governor Andros, who had suc- 
ceeded Lovelace, commander and sub- collector for New York, 
on Delaware bay and river. While occupied with the duties 
of these offices, he "misconducted." himself by making "ex- 
travagant speeches in public ;" but of the subject of these 
speeches we are not informed ; they were probably of a politi- 
cal character, and must have been peculiarly oifensive, for 
Andros recalled him the next year, and deprived him of his 
military commission. This action of the Governor was ap- 
proved by the Duke, who directed that another should be 
appointed to fill the vacant lieutenancy. 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 49 

Billop now retired to his plantation on Staten Island, there 
to brood over the ingratitude of princes, or perhaps over his 
own follies and indiscretions. We hear nothing more of him 
for two years, when he again appears as one of a number who 
preferred complaints or charges against Andros, to the Duke, 
some of which must have been of a serious nature, as the 
Duke thought it necessary to send an agent over to investigate 
the matter, and on receiving his report, Andros was sum- 
moned to appear in person in England to render his accounts. 
This was probably in 1680 or 1681, when Brockholst succeed- 
ed Andros ; in 1682 Dongan succeeded Brockholst. In 1684 
the question of the proprietorship of Staten Island was again 
agitated, and many of the landholders became apprehensive 
of the validity of their title, and some of them, among whom 
was Billop, were desirous of selling, but as no purchasers 
could be found for a dubious title, the property remained in 
the family. Dongan was directed, if the Billop estate was 
sold, to find some purchaser for it in New York, and not to 
suffer it to pass into the possession of a resident of New 
Jersey. Here we lose all further historical trace of Christo- 
pher Billop ; tradition says that in the latter part of the seven- 
teenth, or the beginning of the eighteenth century, he sailed 
for England in his ship, the Bentley, and was never heard of 
after : he left no male issue, but he had at least one daughter. 
"Christopher Billop lived on Staten Island, opposite Perth 
Amboy, and from him Christopher Farmar took the name 
and estate, and Tie was the noted Colonel Billop, of the 
revolutionary war." — (Dunlap'S Hist. New York, vol. II. 
App. p. 153.) 

There are two errors in the above extract ; the name of the 
person who took the "name and estate" of Billop was 
Thomas Farmar, and it was he who married Billop' s daughter, 
and thus acquired both the "name and estate," for the one 
was conditional on the other. He was not the Colonel Billop, 
of the revolutionary war ; if Thomas (Farmar) Billop had 
lived until the war had broken out, he would have been nearly 
seventy years of age, but he did not live until then. The 



50 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

following inscriptions are still to be seen on his tombstone 
and that of his wife. 

"Here lies the body of Thomas Billop, Esq., the son of 
Thomas Farmar, Esq., Dec'd August y e 2d, 1750, in the 
39th year of his age." 

"Here lies the body of Evjenea (Eugenia,) y e wife of 
Thomas Billop, aged 23 years, Dec'd March y e 22d, 1735." 

Tombstones are usually reliable records as to dates. 
Thomas (Farmar) Billop' s wife was born in 1712 ; therefore 
her father, Christopher Billop, was still residing on the 
Island, at or about that date ; and if, as tradition affirms, he 
was lost at sea, it could not have been prior to that date. 

The Colonel Billop, of revolutionary notoriety, evidently 
was not the one who married the daughter of Billop, for 
when the war commenced he had been dead more than a 
score of years, and as this was the only family of the name 
on the Island at that time,* it was his son, named Christo- 
pher, after his grandfather, who was so prominent during 
the war, at which time he was more than forty years of age. 
He married the daughter of Judge Benjamin Seaman, and 
both their estates were confiscated after the war. 

We note here, in passing, that both father-in-law and son- 
in-law were members of the New York Assembly in 1775, 
and on the 23d of February of that year they both voted 
with the tories against sending delegates to the Continental 
Congress — the tories, on that occasion being successful, cast- 
ing 16 votes against 9 Whigs. 

The stones from which the above inscriptions were copied, 
no longer occupy their places at the heads of the graves of 
those whose names they bear ; they have been removed, and 
the enclosure once sacred to the memory of this young couple, 
is now an undefined part of a cultivated field in the town of 
Westfield. 

Colonel Christopher Billop rendered himself obnoxious to 
many of the people of Staten Island by the intensity of his 

* Vide App. N (12.) 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 51 

loyalty to the British crown during the war. His commis- 
sion was that of a Colonel in the British army, and he com- 
manded a regiment of native loyalists, or tories, composed 
chiefly of residents of the Island. Communication between 
Staten Island and New Jersey, having been prohibited, he 
was very active in enforcing the prohibition. The patriots of 
New Jersey were exceedingly bitter in their hostility to him, 
and took him prisoner twice. On one of these occasions, 
some of them, by means of a telescope from a church steeple 
in Amboy, still standing, saw him enter his own house. 
Boats were immediately manned and sent over, and he was 
captured and taken to New Jersey, and incarcerated at Bur- 
lington. Elias Boudinot, who had been appointed by Con- 
gress Commissary-General of Prisoners, issued the follow- 
ing order : 

"To the keeper of the common jail for the county of 
Burlington, greeting : You are hereby commanded to receive 
into your custody the body of Col. Christopher Billop, pris- 
oner of war, herewith delivered to you, and having put irons 
on his hands and feet, you are to chain him down to the 
floor in a close room in said jail, and there to retain him, 
giving him bread and water only for his food, until you re- 
ceive further orders from me, or the Commissary of Prisoners 
for the State of New Jersey for the time being. Griven under 
my hand at Elizabethtown, the 6th day of November, 1779. 

Elias Boudinot, 
Com. Pris. New Jersey." 

While enforcing these severe measures, the Commissary 
informed his prisoner that his treatment was in retaliation 
for the sufferings of John Leshler and Capt. Nathaniel Ran- 
dolph, two patriots who had been captured by the British, 
and that as soon as the severity of their sufferings was miti- 
gated, his should be. 



52 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 



CHAPTER IX. 

Purchase of the Island in 1670 — Indian Reservations — De Decker restored to his 
rights — Death of Stuyvesant — Preparations for war — War between England, 
and France, and Holland — Capture of the Province by the Dutch — Restoration 
to the English — Manning's punishment — Duke of York's new patent — 
Staten Island separated from the Long Island Courts — Excise — The dreadful 
Comet Star — Dongan's administration — His patent to Palmer — Dongan's Man- 
or House — Historical errors corrected — Papist alarms — Dongan's Mill — Leis- 
ler's administration — Officers of the County — Sloughter — Plowman's law- 
suit. 

On the lbth of April, 1670, Staten Island was purchased 
from the Indians, for the Duke of York, by Governor Love- 
lace. This act has been termed " the most memorable" of 
his administration, and the Island was described as "the 
most commodiousest seate and richest land" in America. 
The year previous, the principal sachem had confirmed the 
former bargains made with the English, but several other 
inferior sachems now presented their claims, insisting that 
they were the owners. To quiet them, a new bargain was 
made ; they executed another deed and received their pay- 
ment in wampum, coats, kettles, guns and ammunition, axes, 
hoes, knives, etc., and as before related, possession was 
given by " turf and twigg." This was the last sale made by 
the Indians. It will be remembered, as it was stated before, 
that the Indians reserved two sorts of wood, and within the 
memory of people now living, several small parties of In- 
dians, at long intervals have visited the Island, and exercised 
their reserved right of cutting such wood as they required 
for the purpose of making baskets. In the same year Love- 
lace made Love Island, the property of Isaac Bedlow, an 
alderman of the city, and now known by his name, a sort of 
"city of refuge," by decreeing it a privileged place where 
warrants of arrest should be inoperative. 



ANNALS OF STATE1ST ISLAND. 53 

It will be remembered that during the administration of 
Mcolls, Johannes De Decker, by reason of an imprudent 
display of his Dutch patriotism, was banished from the 
province, and that previous to this Stuy vesant had not only 
banished, but dispossessed him of his estate upon Staten Is- 
land. Some time after the peace of Breda, he applied to the 
Duke of York for a redress of his grievances and a restitution 
of his property. This application the Duke referred to 
Lovelace, with instructions to do in the premises what might 
be just and proper ; the result was that De Decker was re- 
stored to all his rights and privileges, and he retired to 
private life on his farm on Staten Island. 

Governor Lovelace also owned a plantation on the Island, 
on which he built a mill for grinding cereals. The next year, 
Stuy vesant, who, after the conquest of the country, had also 
retired to private life on his bouwerie, died at the age of 
eighty years.* 

Rumors of anticipated troubles in Europe reached America, 
and Lovelace immediately began to make preparations for 
the worst, so far as his means permitted ; he strengthened the 
defences of the fort, organized several military companies in 
the metropolis, and other places in the province, repaired 
arms and laid in a large quantity of ammunition and other 
warlike stores. In April, 1672, England and France declared 
war against Holland ; in Europe, the war was chiefly naval, 
and the English and French fleets suffered severely at the 
hands of De Ruyter and Tromp. On the 7th day of August, 
1673, a Dutch fleet of twenty-three vessels arrived in New 
York bay, and anchored under Staten Island. Soon after 
. their arrival they made a raid upon the plantation of Lovelace, 
and carried off sufficient cattle and sheep to make a breakfast 
for the 1600 men on board the ships of the fleet. This arrival 
produced the greatest consternation in the city and neighbor- 
ing villages. Lovelace being absent in Connecticut, the fort 
was in command of Captain John Manning, who was in a state 

*Vide App. N (13.) 



54 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

of dreadful perplexity ; he caused the drums to be beaten for 
volunteers, but none came ; he sent to the Long Island vil- 
lages for re-inforcements, but none responded to his call ; 
many of the Dutch inhabitants were "assuming airs," many 
had gone on board the Dutch ships to welcome the arrival of 
their countrymen, while others on shore manifested their joy, 
and "talked threateningly." Manning was bewildered with 
his responsibilities, and fervently prayed for the Governor's 
return, but Lovelace, had he been present, could not have 
averted the fate of the city and its dependencies ; he could 
only have assumed the responsibilities which now devolved 
upon the unhappy captain of the fort. To endeavor to pro- 
crastinate in the hope of his superior' s return, was all that he 
could do. He sent a deputation to open a correspondence 
with his unwelcome visitors, but the Dutch, having learned 
the precise strength of the fort, and the amount of resistance 
that Manning was capable of making, were not disposed to 
delay, but while the deputation were on their way to the 
Commodore's ship, they had sent a trumpeter with a peremp- 
tory demand for surrender. To the inquiry of the deputies, 
What was the object of the Dutch in coming to the city ? the 
commodore replied, "To take it, and get our own back 
again." To the trumpeter's demand for surrender, Manning 
replied that he would send an answer when his messengers 
returned from the ships. When they did return, they re- 
ported that the Dutch were altogether too strong to be resisted 
successfully, and would grant only a delay of half an hour. 
In the meantime the vessels had been brought up within 
musket shot of the fort ; another messenger was sent to ask 
a delay until the following morning, but the request was re- 
fused, only another half hour being allowed. At the expir- 
ation of the time, a broadside was opened on the fort which 
killed and wounded several of the garrison. The fort replied 
and struck the commodore's ship. In the meantime a de- 
tachment of 600 men were landed above the "Governor's 
Orchard" on the east shore of the Hudson, which was in the 
rear of the present Trinity Church burial ground, the water 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 55 

then coming up nearly to that place. About 400 of the 
Dutch citizens met the detachment, and gave them a 
hearty welcome, assuring them that the fort could make no 
serious resistance. Manning raised a flag of truce, and three 
men were sent to meet the approaching enemy, two of whom 
were detained, but the third ran away out of the city. He 
then sent another messenger with a proposition to surrender 
the fort and garrison " with the honors of war," which was 
accepted. 

Before the sun set on the 9th day of August, 1673, the 
Dutch flag once more occupied its old elevation, at the top 
of the staff within the fort. Nine years before, the English, 
during a time of profound peace between the two nations, 
had secretly and treacherously fitted out an expedition for 
the express purpose of seizing a place comparatively de- 
fenceless. The Dutch retook it during a state of war between 
the two nations, by a fleet fitted out for another purpose. 
The Dutch squadron consisted of two separate fleets, the one 
under the command of Admiral Cornells Evertsen, the other 
under the command of Commodore Jacob Binckes, or 
Benckes, and after their union they took alternate weeks in 
the command. The conquest having been consummated, 
Captain Anthony Colve was appointed Governor until further 
directions were received from "fatherland." The name of 
the city was changed to New Orange, and the following 
record or memorandum was made of the event: "On the 
30th day of July, stilo vetery, ano 1673, was the fort and 
city of New York taken by the Dutch." At the time of the 
capture a vessel from a Connecticut port was also taken ; the 
governor of that colony indignantly remonstrated with the 
Dutch admirals against the seizure of the vessel, oblivious of 
the fact that war existed between the two nations ; the 
Dutchman, however, reminded him of it, and informed him 
further that they meant to do the English all the harm they 
could, unless they submitted. 

Colve was not disturbed in the performance of the duties 
which had devolved upon him as governor, during the few 



Ob ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

months the province remained in the possession of the 
Dutch, On the 9th of February, 1674, peace was concluded 
between England and the States- General, by the treaty of 
Westminster, and according to its terms the colony reverted 
to the English. Major Edmond Andros, of Prince Rupert's 
dragoon regiment, which had been disbanded, was selected 
as the proper person to proceed to America and receive the 
province from the Dutch. Armed with the proper authority 
from the Dutch government, which had been furnished at the 
request of the English king, he arrived in the Diamond 
frigate in October, 1674, and anchored under Staten Island. 
A correspondence was at once opened between him and 
Colve, which resulted in a surrender of the province on the 
10th day of that month. Manning, the commander of the 
fort at the time of the surrender to the Dutch, was arrested 
and tried for treason and cowardice, and sentenced to be 
cashiered and have his sword broken over his head, which 
sentence was carried into effect, after which he retired to his 
island, now known as Blackwell's. 

The Duke of York, apprehensive that the validity of his title 
might be called in question, in consequence of the province 
having been in the possession of a foreign power, received a 
new patent from the king. 

In 1675, at a Court of Assizes held in New York, among 
other things it was ordered, that " by reason of the separa- 
tion by water, Staten Island shall have jurisdiction by itself, 
and have no further dependence on the courts of Long 
Island, nor on its militia." From this time forward, the 
Island has been an independent judicial district, and the first 
record, which soon after began to be kept, is still in exist- 
ence in the office of the County Clerk ; it is a small square 
volume, bound in vellum, and besides many quaint records of 
"sewts," contains the descriptions of the ear-marks on do- 
mestic animals, to distinguish the ownership, the animals 
probably running at large through the woods and unappro- 
priated lands. 

The regulation of the Excise received the early attention of 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 57 

the government, and the following rates were established 
throughout the province, which "tapsters" were allowed to 
charge ; French wines, Is. 3d. per quart ; Fayal wines and 
St. George's, Is. 6d. ; Madeira wines and Portaport, Is. lOd. 
Canaryes and Malaga, 2s. per quart ; brandy 6d. per gill ; 
rum, 3d. per gill ; syder, 4d. per quart ; double beere, 3d. 
per quart ; meals at wine-houses, Is. ; at beere-houses, 8d. ; 
lodgings at wine-houses, 4d. per night ; at beere-houses, 3d. 

Among the residents of New York at that time, we find 
several familiar Staten Island names, such as Matthew Hill- 
yer, a schoolmaster, whose salary was £12, ($30) per year ; 
DeHart, Garrison, Blake, &c. 

Andros having received his commission as governor, caused 
the oath of allegiance to be administered to the people ; 
the English government was once more established, and so 
continued for a century thereafter. 

Towards the close of the year 1680, the people throughout 
the whole colony were greatly alarmed by the appearance of 
a "Dreadfull Comett Starr," which was visible in broad day- 
light, and had a "very fyery Tail or Streamer." It was at 
once universally accepted as an omen of " Dreadfull Punish- 
ments," and the authorities were requested to appoint a day 
of fasting and humiliation, that by the penitence of the peo- 
ple Heaven might be induced to avert the impending calami- 
ties. The lieutenant-governor Anthony Brockholst, in reply 
to the application, informs the petitioners that the terrible 
star had been observed, and that it " Certainly threatens 
God' s Vengence and Judgments," but recommends each indi- 
vidual to keep his own day of fasting and humiliation, and 
to perform his duty by prayer, &c, as became good Chris- 
tians. 

Andros having been recalled, Brockholst administered the 
government until the arrival ot Colonel Thomas Dongan, 
who, though commissioned September 30th, 1682, did not 
arrive until the 25th of the following August. He was a pro- 
fessed papist, but is said to have been a "wiser man than a 
master." The people of Staten Island are more directly in- 



58 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

terested in him than in any other governor of the province 
under either nationality ; having the whole country before 
him, from which to select his residence, he judiciously made 
choice of Staten Island, and the evidences of his residence 
here are still, in some measure, perceptible. We anticipate 
the order of events in the history of the Island, that we may 
complete that of this governor, the two being almost identical. 

At the time of Dongan' s arrival, there dwelt in the city of 
New York a gentleman named John Palmer, by profession a 
lawyer, who, at the time of the separation of Staten Island 
from the Long Island towns, was appointed "ranger" for 
Staten Island. He had formerly lived on the island of Bar- 
badoes, and had emigrated thence to New York. In 1683 he 
lived on Staten Island, and was appointed by Dongan one of 
the two first judges of the New York Court of Oyer and 
Terminer. He was also a member of the Council, and 
generally an active and prominent man in the affairs of the 
province. To this man Dongan executed a patent, known in 
the Island history as the Palmer or Dongan patent. The 
small brook which forms a part of the boundary between the 
towns of Castleton and Northfield, and which runs to the Mill 
Pond, is still known by the name of "Palmer's Run," be- 
cause it also formed a part of the boundary of the land con- 
veyed by the patent. 

The document is dated March 31st, 1687, and the following 
is a description of the territory conveyed. " Beginning at a 
cOve* on Kill Yan Cull, on the east bounds of the lands of 
Garret Cruise, (Cruser) and so running in the woods by the 
said Kill to a marked tree, and thence by a line of marked 
trees according to the natural position of the poles, south and 
by east two degrees and thirty minutes southerly according 
to the compass south, there being eight degrees and forty-five 
minutes variation ffrom the north westward, and from thence 
by the reare of the land of Garret Cruise & Peter Johnson, 
east & by north two degrees and thirty minutes to the line 

* Vide App. N. (14.) 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 59 

of Peter Johnson' s wood lott, & by his line sonth and by east 
two degrees and thirty minutes south sixty-one chains, and- 
thence by the reare of the aforesaid lott & the lott of John 
Vincent northeast & by east one degree northerly to the 
southeast corner of the land of John Vincent thirty three 
chains & a halfe, from thence by his east line south & by 
west two degrees thirty minutes northerly to a white oak tree 
marked with three notches, bearing northwest from the ffresh 
pond,* from thence to a young chesnutt tree the southwest 
corner of the land of Phillip Wells & so by a line of marked 
trees east nine degrees & fifteen minutes southerly by the 
south side of a small ffresh meadow to the north & to the 
north of the ffresh pond including the pond to the land of Mr. 
Andrew Norwood & so by his land as it runs to the reare of 
the land of Mary Brittaine & so by the reare of the Old Town 
lotts to the land of Isaac Bellew & Thomas Stilwell & from 
thence upon the Iron Hills f to the land of William Stilwell 
& by his land to the land of George Cummins & ffrom his 
northeast corner to the southeast corner of the land of Mr. 
James Hubbard at the head of the ffresh kills & so round by 
his land to the reare lotts at Karles neck & so by the lotts to 
the highway left by Jacob pullion & the great swamp ^ to the 
land of John ffitz Garrett including the great swamp, thence 
by the soldier's lotts and the reare lotts of Cornells Corsen & 
company to the southwest corner of theire ffront lotts & so by 
the runne which is theire bounds to the mill pond including 
the mill pond to the sound or Kill Van Cull & so by the 
sound to the cove where first begun. Containing with all 
the hills, valleys, ffresh meadows & swamps within the above 
specified bounds five thousand one hundred acres be the same 

more or less. Also a great island of salt meadow lying 

near the ffresh kills & over against long neck not yet appro- 
priated — and all the messuages, tenements, fencings, orchards, 
gardens, pastures, meadows, marshes, woods, underwoods, 
trees, timber, quarries, rivers, brooks, ponds, lakes, streams, 

* Vide App. N. (15.) f Ibid - (16.) % Ibid. (17.) 



60 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

creeks, harbors, beaches, fiishing, hawking & fiowling, mines, 
-minerals, (silver and gold mines only excepted) mills, mill 
dams, etc. — The same shall from henceforth be called the 
Lordship & manor of Cassiltowne, — Yielding rendering and 
paying therefore yearly and every yeare one lamb and eight 
bushels of winter wheat." 

On the 16th day of April, 1687, John Palmer, and Sarah, 
his wife, conveyed the territory described above to Thomas 
Dongan, " for a competent summe of lawfull money," after 
an ownership of about a fortnight. 

Being unable to convey this property to himself, the astute 
governor invented and adopted this plan to obtain a lawful 
title thereto. It is now quite impossible to trace the lines de- 
scribed in the patent, as the most of the land-marks men- 
tioned therein have disappeared. If, by the terms "great 
swamp," is meant that extending from Granite ville to New 
Springville, and which is so designated in a variety of other 
ancient documents; and if, by "Ffresh Kills," is meant the 
waters now known by that name, and which are, also, fre- 
quently alluded to by that name in similar documents, it is 
evident that the territory conveyed embraced not only the 
greater part of the present towns of Castleton and Middle- 
town, but a large proportion of Northfield also. 

In the following year, 1688, Dongan erected his Manor 
House, which still remains, externally modernized in some 
degree ; but the oak frame, hewn out of the adjacent forest, 
is the identical one erected by him, the date of its erection 
having been marked upon one of the timbers with white 
paint. The house alluded to is the one standing in the mid- 
dle of the square bounded by the Shore Road on the north, 
Cedar Street on the south, Dongan Street on the east, and 
Bodine Street on the west, at West New Brighton. There is 
now a gradual descent of the surface of the land from the 
house to the Shore Road ; but, originally, the earth was as 
high on the southerly side of the road as it now is at the 
house, forming a sand hill between the house and the road, 
and which entirely concealed the house from view when 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 61 

standing in the road in front of it. When this sand bank 
was removed, several skeletons, evidently of Indians, besides 
numerous other Indian relics, were unearthed, indicating 
this spot as having been one of their burial places. 

There is a conveyance on record, in the office of the County 
Clerk, dated May 9th, 1715, from Thomas Dongan, Earl of 
Limerick, to Thomas, John, and Walter Dongan, and others, 
from which we make the following extract : "And the said 
Thomas, Earl of Limerick, being willing to preserve, and 
uphold, and advance, the name and family of Dongan, and 
having no issue of liis own to continue the same, he, there- 
fore, in consideration of natural love and affection to his 
kinsmen, the said John, Thomas, and Walter Dongan," &c. 

This extract is made to show, by his own authority, that he 
had no descendants. 

One of our State historians says : "The last of his descend- 
ants had reduced himself, by vice, to be a sergeant of foot or 
marines in 1798, '99." And again : "A Colonel Dongan was 
wounded on Staten Island in August, 1777, and died Sept. 
1st ; was he a grandson of the governor?" 

The "kinsmen" mentioned in the conveyance, alluded to 
above, were nephews of the governor. The grave of one of 
them is marked by a tombstone, still standing in the church- 
yard of St. Andrews Church, in Richmond, and the following 
is the inscription thereon : "Walter Dongan, Esq., died July 
25th, 1749, aged 57 years." Consequently, when the estate 
was conveyed to him by his uncle, the Earl of Limerick, he 
was about 23 years of age. His wife, Ruth, interred by his 
side, died July 28th, 1733, aged 32 years. 

The late Walter Dongan, who owned an extensive property 
at the Four Corners, Castleton, where he died February, 1855, 
at the age of 93 years, was a descendant, either son or grand- 
son, of Thomas, another of the nephews. John C Dongan, 
who was a supervisor in 1785, and several times Member of 
Assembly, was the son of the nephew Walter, who was 
surrogate in 1733, and was generally known as "Jackey 
Dongan." He succeeded by some means, in obtaining a very 



62 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

large part of the governor' s estate ; he was a free-liver, and 
what in modern parlance is known as a "fast man." He 
disposed of much of his property in small parcels, at low 
prices, and finally the residue passed into the McVickar 
family, with which, it is said, he was connected by marriage. 
The Dongan family name is now extinct in the county, 
notwithstanding the governor's anxiety to perpetuate it. 
Governor Dongan, though a professed papist, was a decided 
enemy to the French, whose schemes of aggrandizement on 
the northern frontier he persistently opposed, even against 
the expressed wishes of his master, the Duke of York, after- 
wards James II. The people of the province, and especially 
of the Island, where he resided, lived in constant dread of his 
religion. It was generally believed that Dongan had been 
appointed to his high trust for the purpose of forcing his 
religion upon the people of the province, and the fact that he 
selected his co-religionists, of whom there were some in the 
province, for the highest official positions, gave an aspect of 
probability to the suspicion. In 1689 the apprehensions of 
the people on Staten Island culminated in a panic. Fear 
reigned supreme for a while ; they dared not remain at night 
in their own dwellings, but in the deepest recesses of the 
forest they constructed temporary shelters, to which they 
resorted after dark, that they might not be observed and their 
retreats discovered ; they preferred to encounter the perils of 
the darkness and the forests, than trust themselves to the 
tender mercies of their fellow men. Some took their families 
upon the water in boats, which they anchored at a distance 
from the shore, and thus passed the nights ; and various 
other expedients were resorted to for concealment and 
security. Reports of various kinds were spread, which 
added fuel to the flame, and kept it burning for some length 
of time ; among these were, that a number of papists who 
had been driven out of Boston, had been received into the 
fort at New York, and had enlisted as soldiers ; that the 
papists on the Island had secretly collected arms, which 
they kept concealed and ready for use at a moment's 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 63 

notice ; that the Governor' s brigantine had been armed, and 
otherwise equipped for some desperate enterprise, and the 
refusal of the commander of the vessel to permit it to be 
searched, was not calculated to allay the alarm. He admitted 
that the vessel had been armed, but not for the purpose 
alleged, but, as she was bound on a voyage to Madeira, she 
was in danger of being attacked by the Turks, and she had 
been armed for the defense of her crew and cargo. However 
plausible this reason might have been, it was not generally 
credited. The excitement at length subsided, and not a 
Protestant throat had been cut. 

Tradition says that several pieces of cannon were after- 
wards found in the cellar of the Governor's mill, which it 
was supposed had been concealed there, to be in readiness 
when they might be required. This mill stood on the South 
side of the recently constructed public road in West Brighton, 
called Post Avenue, which is in fact part of an old road re- 
opened, for, prior to the construction of the causeway which 
now connects West New Brighton and Port Richmond, the 
only communication between Castleton and Northfield, near 
the shore, was round the head of the cove or pond now 
known as the mill pond. After the construction of the cause- 
way, and its adoption as a public road, the old road ceased to 
be used, and was enclosed as a part of the Post farm, though 
the Post family did not own the farm until a subsequent 
period. This pond is alluded to in the Palmer patent, and 
the tide flowed and ebbed in it, so that boats, at high water, 
could reach the door of the old mill. This mill was largely 
patronized by the people of Bergen Point and its vicinity, as 
well as by the people of Staten Island. When the present 
avenue was constructed, the foundation stones, and some of 
the decayed oak timbers of the old mill , were unearthed, but 
no cannon. In the latter part of the last century, a flouring 
mill was built on the present steamboat wharf at West 
New Brighton, and the most of the water which had pro- 
pelled the old mill, was diverted from its natural course 
by a canal which led it into the large pond at the foot of 



64 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

the present Water street, which pond was then constructed 
to hold the water in reserve for the use of the new mill ; 
this was built by a McVickar, though it subsequently passed 
into the hands of the Van Buskirk family, and was better 
known as "Van Buskirk' s mill. This mill was burned a few 
years ago, and the wharf, the pond and the canal for more 
than half a century have belonged to the New York Dyeing 
and Printing Establishment. After the construction of the 
causeway, and the diverting of the water, the pond has grad- 
ually filled up, until now it can scarcely be utilized for the 
purpose to which it was once devoted. 

It is not certain when Dongan returned to Europe, but it 
was probably in 1691, when he took up his residence in his 
native country, Ireland, and died, as is said, in 1721. He was 
the first Governor of the province who suffered an election by 
the people for Member of Assembly. 

It has been said that the apprehensions of the people in all 
parts of the province, on the occasion mentioned above, were 
entirely unfounded ; but if we glance at the condition of 
England at that time we shall find reason to believe that their 
fears were not altogether chimerical. James II, formerly 
Duke of York and Albany, had abdicated the throne, and 
was then, 1689, a fugitive. William of Orange, and Mary 
his wife, the daughter of James, had just been proclaimed in 
England as William III and Mary II. Andros, the Gov- 
ernor of New England, had superseded Dongan, and had ap- 
pointed Nicholson his deputy in New York, himself being 
an appointee of James. Dongan, Andros and Nicholson 
were known as professed Roman Catholics, and as such sym- 
pathized with James in his exile. Throughout England the 
new king and queen had been proclaimed, and the colonists 
of New York and New England were disposed to do so also, 
but were restrained by the Governor and his deputy, who 
were suspected, and not without reason, of a design of seizing 
the fort at New York, with a view of overawing the people 
and preventing any demonstration in favor of William and 
Mary, who were the professed champions of Protestantism. 



ANNALS OF STATED ISLAND. 65 

In such a state of affairs it would have been surprising in- 
deed if the apprehensions of the people had not been aroused. 
Early in the summer of that year a report was circulated, 
which obtained credence, that the papists intended to attack 
the people on Sunday, while at church in the fort, massacre 
them, and declare for James. So well were the people con- 
vinced of the truth of this rumor, that they assembled in 
great numbers, anticipated the intentions of the governor and 
his deputy, and their adherents, and seized the fort themselves. 
This they held until Nicholson had left the country, and 
William and Mary had been proclaimed by the exultant pop- 
ulace. Notwithstanding the reiterated assertions made at the 
time, that neither Andros nor Nicholson were friendly to the 
papists, there were affidavits and other proofs of a convincing 
character to contradict them. 

Jacob Leisler, a prominent character of that day, exercising 
both civil and military authority, was intrusted by the magis- 
trates with the administration of affairs, after the departure 
of Nicholson, and one of his first acts was to cause William 
and Mary to be proclaimed in the counties of Richmond, 
Westchester, Queens, Kings and Ulster, and the city and 
county of Albany and East Jersey ; the order to Richmond 
was dated December 17th, 1689. On the 30th of the same 
month, he issued an order requiring all persons who held 
commissions, warrants, "or other instruments of power or 
command, either civil or military," derived from either Don- 
gan or Andros, forthwith to surrender the same to a justice 
of the peace of the county wherein they resided, except the 
counties of New York and Richmond, who were to surrender 
at the fort in New York. 

After the burning of Schenectady, and the massacre of its 
inhabitants by the French and Indians, in February, 1690, he 
issued another order to the military and civil officers of sev- 
eral counties, Richmond County being one of the number, 
that "fearing too great a correspondency hath been main- 
tained between y e s d ffrensch & disaffected P r sons among us," 
to secure all persons reputed papists, or who are inimical to 



66 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

the government, or who continue to hold any commissions 
from Dongan or Andros, and bring them before him. 

In the same year, 1689, Leisler commissioned the following 
civil and military officers in Richmond County : 

Ely Crossen, high sheriff. Jaques Puillion, Captain. 

Jacob Corbett, clerk. Cornells Corsen, do. 

Obadiah Holmes, justice. Thomas Morgan, Lieutenant. 

Jaques Poullion, do. John Theunis Van Pelt, do. 

Thomas Morgan, do. Seger Geritsen, Ensign. 

Jacob Gerritse, do. Cornells Nevius, do. 
Cornells Corsen, do. 

The following persons from Staten Island were members of 
a company commanded by Capt. Jacob Milborne, which was 
sent to Albany to establish Leisler' s authority, the govern- 
ment of that city having refused to recognize it, viz.: " Jean 
Marlett, Francis Mauriss, Hendrick Hendricksen, Jean faefre, 
John Rob, John doulier and Peter Henkesson." 

Leisler' s administration was far from being peaceful ; other 
places in the province besides Albany disputed the validity 
of his appointment, but none were so decided in their opposi- 
tion. Milborne' s expedition to Albany resulted in nothing. 

In July, 1690, Leisler issued an order directed to the 
" Constable at Elizabethtown, & so fore ward requiring and 
desiring the arrest of ' five armed frenchmen,' who were seen 
on Schutter's Island, having a watch out on trees, & being 
assured that peter deumont & Andrew ffallourdell" were 
amongst them, having fled out of tliis province from the 
hands of justice. We have no means of learning whether 
any of these men were ever arrested, nor whether they were 
guilty of any other crime than that of being Frenchmen ; 
but from the tenor of the order, we infer that he did not 
recognize Shooter' s Island as being a part of the province of 
New York. 

There is no evidence that the people of Stateu Island took 
any decided stand with regard to Leisler' s administration, 
nor in what light it was regarded by them ; generally, they 
submitted quietly to the authorities placed over them. Fur- 



AXNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 67 

ther than commissioning some officers, and issuing some 
general orders, he does not appear in connection with the 
history of the Island. 

After the arrival of Gfovernor Sloughter, Leisler and Mil- 
borne, his son-in-law, together with several members of his 
Council, were arrested for treason and condemned to death, 
but all were reprieved except the two first named, who were 
executed by hanging on Saturday, May 16th, 1691. On the 
28th of April, preceding, a letter was presented to the Council 
in New York from the Sheriff of Richmond County, " Giving 
an Account of severall Riotts and Tumults on Staten Island, 
and that they are subscribing of papers" ; the sheriff was 
ordered to secure the ring-leaders that they might be prose- 
cuted. The papers which were " subscribed" were petitions 
in favor of the two condemned men; the people of Westchester 
also sent a petition for the same purpose, but the Council did 
not recognize the right of petition in such cases ; therefore 
some were cited to appear before that body, while others were 
imprisoned as promoters of "riots and disturbances." 

During Dongan' s administration, Leisler, having imported 
a cargo of wine, refused to pay the duties thereon to Matthew 
Plowman, the collector of the port, because he was a papist ; 
he was, however, compelled to do so, and ever, thereafter, was 
a bitter enemy of Plowman. During his brief arbitrary ad- 
ministration, to gratify his spite, he charged Plowman with 
being a defaulter to the government ; and, learning that he 
was the owner of a quantity of beef and pork, stored at 
Elizabethtown, he ordered Johannes Burger, a sergeant at the 
fort, to proceed to Staten Island, and compel such individuals 
as he might require to go with him, and assist in the removal 
of the provisions. • Burger obeyed the order, and the prop- 
erty was brought to Leisler in New York, who sent it to 
Albany for the use of the soldiers he had sent to that place. 
After Leisler' s execution, Plowman prosecuted all who were 
concerned in the removal of his property, to recover its value. 
Amongst the number were the following residents of Staten 
Island, viz., John Jeronison, Thomas Morgan, Lawrence 



68 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

Johnson, John Peterson, Dereck Crews, (Cruser) Chauck 
(Jaques) Pollion and John Bedine." These individuals, soon 
after the arrival of Major Richard Ingoldsby, as president of 
the province addressed an "humble Peticon" to him and the 
Council, in which they admit having assisted in the removal 
of Plowman' s property, but that they did so under compul- 
sion, believing that they were doing a service to their majes- 
ties ; that they considered it unjust to compel them to pay 
for the provisions when the whole country had the benefit of 
them ; they therefore pray that they may be relieved from 
the whole responsibility, or if that may not be done, that 
every person engaged in the removal be compelled "to pay 
their equall proporceons of the same." This petition was 
presented by Plowman himself, who thereby recognized the 
justice of their cause, but what the result of the application 
was does not appear. 

In 1693 the following persons were civil officers of Rich- 
mond County : 

Ellis Duxbury, Esq., Judge of the Common Pleas. Abra- 
ham Cannor (Cannon,) Abraham Lakeman (Lockman,) Dennis 
Theunisse and John Shad well, justices ; John Stilwell, Esq., 
Sheriff. The militia of the county consisted of two companies 
of foot, 104 men in all, under the command of Capt. Andrew 
Cannon. 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 69 



CHAPTER X. 

Complaints against the Sheriff — Census from 1698 to 1771 — Slaveholders — Civil 
and Military Officers— Disappearance of old Families — Cold Winter of 1740-'l 
— Traveling in the Olden Time — A Traveler's Adventure in the Woods — Cold 
Winters of 1761 and 1768— Baron De Kalb- Domestic Life of the Olden Time. 

It has been stated above, that the sheriff of Richmond sent a 
letter to the Council in April, 1691, with information that 
riots and tumults had taken place in the county, and directions 
were returned to him to secure the ringleaders, that they 
might be punished, Thomas Stilwell, the sheriff, was not 
dilatory in obeying the order, and arrested several of the cit- 
izens of the county, among whom were John Theunison, 
John Peterson, and Gferard Vechten, each of whom he com- 
pelled to pay three pounds ; others were obliged to execute 
bonds for the payment of that amount, and one refused to do 
either, and him he imprisoned. When information of the 
sheriff's proceedings reached New York, orders were sent 
down to have the bonds cancelled, whereupon the three indi- 
viduals who had paid their money, demanded that it should 
be refunded ; the sheriff, probably conscious that he had ex- 
ceeded his powers, promised that it should be done, but de- 
layed so long, that the aggrieved parties appealed to the 
Council. At the same time, the same three individuals pre- 
sented a complaint against the assessors, who exempted 
themselves and some others from the payment of the tax for 
"negers," and that poor people who have no "negers" 
must pay "as much accordingly like Them that Has many 
negers. Therefore your petitioners humbly crave That your 
Ex u y will be pleased To signify Them iff s d negers should be 
Excluded ffor paying Tax." What the result of these peti- 
tions was, we are not informed further than that they met 
with a favorable reception. 



70 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

It must be admitted that Leisler, during the time he exer- 
cised his authority, had many Mends upon the Island, 
though they were not very demonstrative. His appointments 
to office were usually from among its best citizens, which ope- 
rated in his favor ; no decided steps were taken in his behalf 
during his imprisonment and trial, but after his condemna- 
tion petitions for his pardon were extensively signed, which 
had no other effect than to bring upon the signers the displeas- 
ure of the government, who regarded the act as disloyal. 
Further than the imposition of fines, which appear to have 
been remitted, and the brief imprisonment of a few individ- 
uals, no punishment was inflicted upon the culprits. 

For the remainder of the century nothing appears to have 
transpired, within the limited area of the county, of sufficient 
importance to be considered as of historical interest. What- 
ever may have taken place in the more densely populated 
parts of the province, Staten Island, in its secluded position^ 
was left to pursue its own course as a separate and distinct 
community. In lieu of other materials, we present a few sta- 
tistics which will prove of interest. They are arranged from 
tables in the Documentary History of the province. 

Tears. Men. Women. Children. Blacks. Total. 

1698, 328 208 118 73 727 

1703 505 

1712 1279 

White Males. White Females. 

1723 640 611 255 1506 

1731 686 827 304 1817 

1737 777 763 349 1889 

1746 856 835 382 2073 

1749 887 858 409 2154 

1756 862 805 465 2132 

1771 1150 1103 594 2847 

Notwithstanding the assertion made in the complaint 
against the assessors, that poor people had no "negers," the 
number of slaves owned by a single individual was not 
always an indication of his wealth, for many of the residents 
appear to have been remarkably prolific, and had many 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 



71 



children of both sexes to assist them in their agricultural 
labors, thus rendering the assistance of slaves unnecessary. 
The following is a list of the slave holders in the "North 
Company" of Staten Island, as returned by Jacob Corsen, 
Jun., in 1755. The names are spelled as in the original, but 
are readily recognized. 



SLAVEHOLDEKS. 



No. Slaves. 
Male. Female. 
3 
2 
2 
2 
1 



Tlioinas Dongan 7 

Jacob Corssen, Seneor 3 

Jacob Corssen, Juner 

John Vegte 2 

Gerardus Beekman 1 

In care of G. Beekman, but 
belonging to John Beek- 
man of New York 3 

Henry Cruse 1 3 

Antony Walters 2 2 

Cornelius Cruse 1 

Simon Simonson 1 

Jobannis de Groet 1 1 

Jobn Rolf 1 2 

Cbristeiaen Corssen 2 

Josbua Merseral 1 1 

Jobn Deceer. 1 1 

Garret Crussen 2 

Garret Post 1 1 

John Roll, Juner 1 1 



No. Slaves. 
Male. Female. 
.. 1 



SLAVEHOLDERS 
Barent marteling. ... 

Richard Merrel 2 2 

Otto Van tuyl 2 2 

Bastian Ellis 1 

John Veltmon 1 

Abraham Prall 2 3 

Charles Mecleen 1 

Margaret Simonson 1 1 

Joseph Lake 1 1 

John Roll 3 1 

Elenor haughwout 1 

Abraham Crocheron. - 1 1 

Barnit De Pue 1 1 

John Crocheron 1 

David Cannon J 

Aron Prall 1 

Charyty Merrill 1 

Joseph Begel 1 1 

Cornelius Korsan 1 



The following are the names of the Civil and Military 
officers of the county of Richmond for the year 1739 : 

Judges of the Court of Common Pleas. 

John Le Conte, Judge. 

Christian Corsen, 2d Judge. 

Cozen Adrianz, 3d Judge. 

Nicolas Britton, Justice. 

Richard Stilwell, do. 

Joseph Bedell, do. 

John Veghte, do. 

Rem Vander Beek, do. 

John Latourette, do. 

Thomas Billop* do. 

Cornelius Corsen, do. 

Joshua Mersereau, do. 

Abraham Cole, do. 

Barent Martling, do. 

Nicholas Larzelere, Sheriff, 

John Hillyer, Coroner. 

Danial Corsen, Clerk. 



L 
Jacob Corsen, Colonel. 
Christiene Corsen, Lt. Col. 
Thomas Billopp, Major. u- 

North Division. 
John Veghte, Captain. 
Frederick Berge, Lieutenant. 
Jacob Corsen, Jun., Ensign. 

South Division. 
Cornelius StoothofE, Captain. 
Jacob Berge, Lieutenant. 
Aris Rvertse (Ryerss), Ensign. 

West Division. 
Nathaniel Britton, Captain. 
Marthias Johnson, Lieutenant. 
Abraham Maney (Manee), Ensign. 

The Troop. 
Peter Perrin (Perine), Captain. 
Garret Crosse, Lieutenant. 
Wynant Wynants, Cornet. 
Danul Wynants, Qr. Master. 



* Vide App. N. (18.) 



72 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

By examining the lists of names given above, the reader 
will perceive that a large proportion of the families who were 
once prominent and influential in the county, have either re- 
moved or become extinct by natural causes. 

The winter of 1740-1 was unusually severe ; whenever it 
was alluded to, it was designated as " the hard winter," and 
it maintained its character until that of 1779-80 proved 
decidedly " harder." Its extraordinary severity continued 
from the middle of November to the end of March. Snow 
fell to the depth of six feet on a level ; fences were buried out 
of sight ; domestic animals were housed during the whole 
period, and many of them perished ; intercourse between 
neighbors was suspended for several weeks ; physicians were 
not able to reach their patients because the roads were utterly 
impassable ; many families suffered for bread while their 
granaries were filled, but grain could not be ground because 
the mills were inaccessible ; the roofs of dwelling and out- 
houses in many cases were crushed by the superincumbent 
mass of snow ; churches remained closed, and the dead un- 
buried. At length a day or two of moderate weather, with a 
light misty rain, softened the surface of the snow, which froze 
hard again, forming a thick, firm ice, sufficient to sustain a 
horse. This for a time afforded great relief to the imprisoned 
people, and enabled them to procure fuel and other neces- 
saries. * 

The conveniences for traveling in the days of our ances- 
tors presents a striking contrast to those of the present day. 
The following public notice appeared in 1753 : 

"A commodious stage-boat will attend at the City Hall slip, 
near the Half Moon battery, to receive goods and passengers, 
on Saturdays and Wednesdays, and on Mondays and Thurs- 
days will set out for Perth Amboy Ferry ; there a stage- 
wagon will receive them and set out on Tuesdays and Fridays 
in the morning, and carry them to Cranberry, and then the 
same day, with fresh horses to Burlington, where a stage- 

* Vide App. N. (19.) 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 73 

boat receives them, and immediately sets out for Philadel- 
phia." Thus the journey between the two cities was ac- 
complished in three days, and was called "an improvement." 
The stage-boats of those days were the periauguas, or piro- 
gues of the present ; they were vessels without keels, heavy 
lee-boards, two masts and two large sails ; the improvement 
consisted in substituting these boats for the small sloops used 
before. When wind and weather permitted, the "outside 
passage" was made — that is, through the Narrows and 
around the eastern side of Staten Island ; at other times they 
passed through the Kills and Sound. Another route, fre- 
quently taken, was across the bay to Staten Island, across 
the Island to the Blazing Star Ferry,* which was crossed in 
a scow, then to New Brunswick, where the Karitan was 
crossed in another scow, thence to Trenton, where the Dela- 
ware was crossed in a third scow, and thence to the end of 
the journey. A third route was by way of Paulus Hook, 
now Jersey City, which was reached by a periaugua, and 
thence by stage-wagons and scows. This last route was the 
safest, as the journey by water was shorter, though that by 
land was somewhat longer. Three days, however, were oc- 
cupied by either route if everything was favorable, but if 
any mishap occurred, or if the man and boy, who usually 
formed the crew of a periaugua, were intoxicated, as often 
happened, a fourth day must be devoted to the journey. 
The perils of crossing the bay in these boats in a gale of 
wind, was sometimes serious. There were other perils which 
beset travelers in those days, as may be seen by the following 
narrative, which we borrow from Dunlap : 

"1765, January 10th. A traveler passing from Albany to 
Boston, put up at a tavern and gave his bags, with money, 
in charge of the landlord. Next day proceeding, he found 
his horse lame, and stopped at a blacksmith's, who found the 
horse had been cut just above one of his hoofs, and some of 
the hair drawn through the wound. He inquired where the 

* Vide App. N. (20.) 



74 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

traveler lodged last night, and being told, shook his head and 
advised him not to pursue his journey through the woods 
alone. 'I have good pistols.' 'Examine them.' He did, 
and found that the charge had been drawn, and supplied 
with dirt. This confirmed suspicion, and the blacksmith ad- 
vised him not to go on. The traveler persisted, and clean- 
ing and reloading his pistols, pursued his way. The black- 
smith, anxious for his safety, mounted his horse and fol- 
lowed. Before he overtook the traveler, he heard two pistols 
discharged, and soon met the traveler returning, who said, 
' I have done the business for two of them.' It being near 
night, he returned to the blacksmith's, and remained until 
morning, when they both entered the wood, and found the 
landlord and his son dead — the victims of their own plot to 
rob the wayfarer." 

In January, 1761, the weather became exceedingly cold, 
and continued so till March ; the Narrows were frozen over. 

Another severe winter occurred in 1768 ; it is related of 
Baron De Kalb that he, with eight other persons, attempted 
to cross over to Staten Island at the Blazing Star Ferry, but 
that the scow sunk, leaving them all night upon a sand 
island. Some died from the cold, while others lost some of 
their limbs. De Kalb was the only person uninjured ; he, 
after they were rescued, instead of warming himself by the 
fire as the others did, stood bare-footed in cold water, then 
took some refreshments and went to bed, and in the morning 
arose uninjured. 

A glance at the domestic life of the olden time will be of 
interest to the modern reader. 

The dwellings of our ancestors, at first, were unavoidably 
rude and inconvenient, as the necessity of an immediate 
shelter, upon their arrival, compelled them to erect their 
houses without regard to anything but that. Log cabins 
were built by almost every family, and when properly con- 
structed, were comfortable and durable. In process of time, 
as their means increased, many of them erected spacious, 
and in some instances costly houses of stone, some of which 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 75 

may still be seen in various parts of the Island, but they 
were almost, without exception, in the Dutch style of archi- 
tecture — long, low and massive. The kitchen, which was 
usually a separate structure, but connected with the main 
house, was furnished with a spacious fire-place — in some in- 
stances occupying one entire end of the apartment. It is 
said that some of these kitchens were furnished with doors, 
in front and in rear, large enough to allow a horse and sleigh 
loaded with wood, to be driven in at one door, the wood to be 
unloaded into the fire-place, and driven out at the opposite, 
but we will not pledge our historical veracity for the truth of 
the assertion. Usually a "back-log," of greenwood, too large 
to be managed without the aid of bars and levers, was rolled 
into the house and placed against the back wall of the fire- 
place, then smaller materials were built up in front of it and 
ignited, and soon a bright and glowing fire was kindled, 
giving heat, and at night light enough for ordinary purposes. 
The materials for these houses were abundant on almost every 
man' s farm ; stones were either quarried or found upon the 
surface ; timber grew in his own woods, where it was felled 
and dressed ; shingles were cut and split in the same place, 
and the boards and planks were sawed at some neighboring 
mill. Of these saw-mills there were several on the Island ; 
the ruins of one or two of them are still to be seen. The nails 
were made by the hands of the neighboring blacksmith. 
* Lime of the best quality was made by burning the shells, 
which were found in many places near the shores in large 
quantities, deposited there by the aborigines. It required 
much labor, and occupied much time to build a house of this 
description, but it was built to be occupied by generations. 
With few exceptions, the people were agriculturists, and 
their method of cultivation did not differ materially from 
that of the present day. Their implements of husbandry 
were usually brought from the old country, and, compared 
with those of the present day, were clumsy and ponderous. 
Prior to the introduction of harrows, which is of compara- 
tively recent date, branches of trees were used in their stead, 



76 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

and are still used in many parts of the country at the present 
day. 

Every farmer whose necessities required it, was the owner 
of one or more slaves, the males being the assistants of the 
master in the fields, and the females of the mistress in the 
kitchen. They were invariably treated with kindness by the 
Dutch, but the French, and especially the English settlers, 
were disposed to draw the line of social equality more rigidly. 
Slaves, however, were generally well taken care of, perhaps 
not always so much from motives of humanity as of interest. 
They always had their own sleeping apartments and their own 
separate tables. As the life of a slave was doomed to be one 
of labor, intellectual cultivation was deemed unnecessary; 
some, few, however, were taught sufficiently to enable them 
to read the Bible, and as they were admitted to be responsible 
hereafter for the deeds done in this life, religious instructions 
in pious families were not neglected. It was not unusual to 
see master and slave working together in the fields apparently 
on terms of perfect equality, but there were lines drawn, 
beyond which neither males nor females dared to trespass. 
In the kitchen, especially in the long winter evenings, the 
whites and blacks indiscriminately surrounded the same huge 
fire, ate apples from the same dish, poured cider from the 
same pitcher, and cracked nuts and jokes with perfect free- 
dom. 

In the construction of houses of the better class, the chim- 
neys were made of bricks imported from Holland, frequently 
as ballast, but when it was discovered that an article quite as 
good could be manufactured from American earth, importa- 
tion ceased. Ovens were usually built outside of the house, 
and roofed over to protect them from the weather. The barns 
were low in the eaves, but very capacious, and some farmers 
had several of them, according to the size of their farms. 
One of the most important of a farmer's out-of-door arrange- 
ments, was his hog-pen ; the number of swine which he 
fattened annually was proportioned to the number of the 
members of his family. Beside swine, every farmer fattened 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 77 

a "beef," and when the season for slaughtering came round, 
which was in the Fall, after the weather had become cold, 
there was a busy time both without and within doors ; what 
with the cutting up and " corning" of the meat, the labor of 
making sausages, head-cheese, rollitjes, and many other 
articles, even the names of which are now forgotten, both the 
males and females of the family were occupied for a fortnight 
or more. After the work of "killing time" was over, the 
long Fall and Winter evenings were devoted to the manufacture 
of candles, "moulds" and "dips." Every farm has its 
smoke-house, in which hams, shoulders, pieces of beef, and 
various other articles of diet, were hung to be cured with 
smoke. With his corned and smoked meats, his poultry, 
mutton and veal, the farmer' s family was not without animal 
food the year round. G-ame of various kinds abounded in the 
forests for a long time, and was usually hunted by the 
younger members of the family. 

Early in the Spring, every householder made one or more 
visits to the beach, to procure a supply of fish, both scale and 
shell ; but, more particularly, to lay in a supply of shad for 
summer consumption. This practice is continued, with many 
families, to the present day. 

Every house was furnished with two spinning wheels : a 
large one, for the manufacture of woolen thread, and a small 
one for linen. A thorough, practical knowledge, of the use 
of these instruments, was deemed an indispensable part of a 
young lady's education; let her other accomplishments be 
what they might, without these she was not qualified to 
assume the care of a family. After the thread had been spun, 
it was dyed ; sumach, the bark of the black oak, chestnut, 
and other trees, furnishing the materials for that purpose. 
Large families had looms of their own, with which the cloth 
for family use was woven, though there were professional 
weavers, whose skill was in demand when bed-spreads, and 
other articles with fancy patterns, were required to be made. 
Girls, at a very early age, were inducted into the mysteries 
of knitting, and were the recipients of many a boxed ear for 



78 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

" dropping stitches." Provident families were well supplied 
with woolen and linen garments, and quantities of cloth of 
both materials laid aside, to be manufactured into household 
articles when they might be required. The prudent house- 
wife made it her care to provide an ample supply of clothing, 
not only for the living, but she had also, laid aside, grave 
clothes for the members of the household, to be ready at hand 
when they might be required. 

There were itinerant tailors, who went from house to house, 
spending several days at each, making overcoats, and such 
other garments as the women of the family could not make ; 
and itinerant shoemakers, who, once each year, went on their 
circuit, making and repairing boots and shoes. 

People sometimes lived at great distances from each other, 
yet social intercourse was not neglected. On Sundays they 
met at church, and, both before and after service, family and 
neighborhood news was communicated and discussed. On 
court days the men from all parts of the county met at the 
county seat, where they talked over their agricultural expe- 
riences, and other matters of interest. But the most cheerful 
of all social assemblages, especially for young people, took 
place in the winter, when the sleighing was good ; then it 
was that those who were yet unmarried sought each other' s 
society, and met at Richmond to indulge in the merry dance 
until the waning hours admonished them to return to their 
homes. The attractions of these meetings have proved too 
powerful to be entirely abandoned, and they are still con- 
tinued by the same class in society. But the pater et mater 
familias were not without their social enjoyments ; the long 
winter evenings were frequently spent in visiting or receiving 
visitors, in the course of which a sumptuous repast formed 
one of the pleasant features of the meeting. 

The early Dutch settlers on Staten Island, though not a 
literary, were a pious people ; the greatest part of them were 
able to read and write, as the Dutch family Bibles, and the 
beautiful chirography in many of them, testify. The Wal- 
densian and Huguenot elements, which amalgamated with 



AISHSTALS OF STATEN" ISLAND. 79 

them, served to intensify their religions sentiments ; indeed, 
it could not well be otherwise, for it was to enjoy the peace- 
ful exercise of their religion that these latter had forsaken 
the homes of their childhood and the graves of their fathers, 
and cheerfully submitted to the inconveniences and sufferings 
of a life in the wilderness ; religious duties had a claim para- 
mount to all others, and long before they were able to erect 
churches for themselves, their dwellings were thrown open 
for the accommodation of their neighbors, when the ministers 
from the city periodically visited them. The language of 
Holland was, of course, the first in use, the Huguenots 
brought their French with them, but as the several nationali- 
ties mingled and intermarried, it gradually died out, and the 
Dutch became the prevailing tongue until after the conquest, 
when in its turn it succumbed to the language of the conquer- 
ors. The Dutch, however, continued to be used in social in- 
tercourse, and the services of the sanctuary for a long time 
after the conquest, and less than half a century ago, its un- 
couth accents were still heard in some dwellings. 

The Dutch were never addicted to the observance of holi- 
days ; Custydt, or Christmas and Nieuw Jaar, or New Year, 
were about the only ones of a religious character in which 
they indulged ; Paas, or Easter, was surrendered to the chil- 
dren, and Pingster or Whitsunday to the negroes. Children 
have not yet resigned their claim to their especial holiday in 
Dutch communities. Religious services were regularly held 
on Christmas, and on the first day of the New Year, on which 
occasion the newly elected church officers were formally in- 
ducted into their respective offices, and this ceremony was 
called being " married to the church." 



80 ANNALS OF STATEJST ISLAND. 



CHAPTER XL 

Gov. Hardy — The Delanceys — Expedition against Louisburg — Gen. Aniherst — 
Conquest of Canada — Moncton's Army on Staten Island — Amherst invested 
with the order of the Garter on Staten Island — Extracts from old papers — Be- 
ginning of the Revolution — Tories on Staten Island. 

Sir Charles Hardy arrived September 2d, 1755, as G-overnor 
of the province ; he was an English admiral, and on account 
of his lack of knowledge and experience in civil affairs, was 
unfitted for the position which he was sent to occupy. He 
suffered himself, however, to be guided and directed in a 
great measure by his Council, and especially by the two De- 
lanceys, James and Oliver. When the provincial expedition 
against the French at Louisburg was being organized, he was 
appointed to the command, and embarked July 20th, 1757, 
leaving the government in the hands of James Delancey, 
who had been appointed Lieutenant- Governor in 1753. On 
the 29th of July, 1760, the Lieutenant- G-overnor, with Gen- 
eral Provoost and several other prominent gentleman, visited 
Staten Island, and dined there ; it is said to have been a very 
jovial party, and that he indulged in eating and drinking to 
excess, the penalty for which he paid the following day, when 
one of his children found him expiring, seated in a chair in 
his study. His house was in the Bowery. He was buried on 
the 31st, under the middle aisle of Trinity Church. 

The war between the English and French had been carried 
on for several years with great activity, but Abercrombie, the 
English commander-in-chief, though he had the reputation 
of being a consummate general, was unfortunate in most of 
his efforts against the enemy, probably because he relied more 
upon his English regulars, who were not accustomed to fight- 
ing in a wild country, than upon the provincials, who accom- 
panied him and formed an important part of his army, and 



ANJSTALS OF STATED ISLAND. 81 

who were perfectly familiar with the country, and the manner 
of fighting the French and their Indian allies ; a mistake into 
which other British generals than Braddock and Abercrombie 
have fallen. In 1759, Abercrombie was superseded by Gen- 
eral Amherst, and affairs on the Northern frontier soon began 
to assume a more favorable aspect. 

One of the most important services during this protracted 
war, was the capture of the French fort Frontenac, on the 
27th of August, 1758. With 8,000 men, mostly provincials, 
Colonel Bradstreet, himself a provincial, traversed the wilder- 
ness between Albany and Lake Ontario, carrying with him 
eight pieces of cannon, and three mortars. Among these 
troops was a regiment commanded by Colonel Corse, of 
Queens county, and in that regiment was Captain Thomas 
Arrowsmith' s* company of Staten Islanders. This regiment 
contributed materially to the success of the expedition. 
Corse volunteered to erect a battery during the night of the 
26th, and effected his purpose under a continuous fire from 
the fort. On the morning of the 27th, this battery opened on 
the enemy, who at once deserted the fort and fled. The ma- 
terial captured with the fort consisted of forty-six pieces 
of cannon, sixteen mortars, and a very large quantity of 
military stores, provisions and merchandise. 

In September, 1760, Canada was surrendered to the English, 
and the provincial forces engaged in its reduction turned 
their faces homeward. 

The revolutionary army of Howe was not the first British 
army that had occupied Staten Island ; in 1760, General 
Moncton encamped here for several months. During his 
occupancy an important ceremony, as it was regarded at that 
time and by that people, was performed here. Amherst, 
after the conquest of Canada, returned to New York, where 
he was received with salutes and illuminations. Moncton 
had been deputed to invest him with the order of the Garter, f 
which was done upon Staten Island, in the presence of all 

* Vide App. N. (21.) f Ibid. (22.) 



82 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

the dignitaries of the province, and a large concourse of spec- 
tators. The government of the province had been committed 
to Doctor Cadwallader Golden, of Ulster county, who ad- 
ministered it until the commission of Moncton as Governor 
arrived, which was on the 19th October, 1761. He, however, 
did not remain long, for on the 15th of the succeeding month 
he embarked with all his army for Martinique in a fleet con- 
sisting of one hundred transports and two line-of -battle ships. 

Early in the Summer of 1764, the light-house on Sandy 
Hook was lighted for the first time. Holt' s New Tor 7c Gazette, 
or Weekly Post Boy of June 18, of that year, gives the 
following as items of important news : 

"The long- wished for ferry is now established from the 
place called Powles's Hook (Jersey City) to the City of New 
York." — Also a ferry established across the Kill Van Kul] 
from Staten Island to Bergen. 

There is no evidence that the political questions of the day, 
which even at this early period began to agitate the minds of 
the people throughout the several provinces, produced much 
excitement on Staten Island ; the people were an isolated com- 
munity, holding little intercourse with the world around them, 
and taking comparatively little interest in matters not of a 
strictly local character. There were, however, some intelligent 
men among them who kept themselves informed on the topics 
which began to agitate the country, and who well understood 
their merits. The great majority of the people, however, if 
not indifferent, were opposed to the patriotic doctrines which 
found so many advocates elsewhere. This is evident from 
the political character of the men sent by them as their repre- 
sentatives to the provincial assemblies, such as Benjamin 
Seaman, and his son-in-law, Christopher Billop, and later, 
Abraham Jones, who subsequently was refused his seat on 
account of his known sympathies with the British. 

The geographical situation of the Island gave a direction 
to the political sentiments of the people. Commanding the 
approach to the metropolis and the province, whatever na- 
tion possessed it, took advantage of its natural facilities in a 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 83 

military point of view. The Dutch had a battery on the 
heights at the Narrows at one time ; the English enlarged the 
military works at the same important point, and the United 
States have not failed to improve its advantages. Whoever, 
then, possessed this important point, before the revolution, 
to a certain extent might be said to possess, or at least to 
control the Island and the metropolis. Whilst the English 
held the government of the province, the people naturally 
imbibed English sentiments ; freedom of opinion on political 
subjects, so far as the nature and character of the govern- 
ment was concerned, was not tolerated. It is not to be won- 
dered at, then, that a people who for more than a century had 
been taught to believe that it was little short of treason to 
doubt the divine origin of monarchy, and especially of the 
English monarchy, should be conscientiously opposed to a 
change which was calculated to overturn all their most cher- 
ished institutions. More than half of the population on the 
Island, at the dawn of the revolution, were either of English 
birth or descent, and few, perhaps none, entertained the idea 
that the rebellion could by any possibility succeed, and even 
among the whigs themselves there were probably thousands 
who hoped against hope. 



84 ANNALS OF STATED* ISLAND. 



CHAPTER XII. 

Military Value of Staten Island — British take possession of Staten Island — 
Skinner and Billop — Col. Mersereau — Battle of Long Island — Brutality and in- 
solence of the British Soldiers on Staten Island. 

Lying between the ocean and the metropolis, and on the high- 
way from the one to the other, Staten Island, early in the war, 
was regarded as an important location in a military point of 
view. Its importance was enhanced by the fact that it was 
situated in a bay more than half surrounded by the main 
land of New Jersey, and commanded not only a great part of 
Long Island, but New York city, and a large extent of coun- 
try, embracing nearly all the northern part of New Jersey ; 
the possession of it therefore became a matter of importance 
to both belligerents. 

In 1776, General De Heister, with his army of German 
mercenaries in the pay of George III, arrived at Halifax, 
where the British fleet and army had for some time been 
awaiting re-inforcements. Washington had driven the Brit- 
ish out of Boston, and soon thereafter, (April 14,) arrived in 
New York, on his way to Philadelphia, to meet Congress. 
During the absence of Washington, the American army in 
New York was under the command of Putnam and Lee, and 
numbered in all 10,235 men, a force not at all comparable 
with that of the British, but which Clinton, with his cautious 
policy, considered too great to molest ; so, giving New York a 
wide berth, he sailed for Charleston, South Carolina. 

When he arrived, he found Lee there before him, and again 
he judged it prudent not to attempt to land his army until 
after the fleet had removed the obstacles. Sir Peter Parker,* 
the British admiral, attacked the fort on Sullivan's Island, 
but was repulsed. 

In the meanwhile General Howe, after being driven from 
Boston, had awaited the arrival of his brother, Lord Howe, 

* Vide App. N. (23.) 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 85 

at Halifax, sailed from thence, and, on the second of July, 
landed on Staten Island without opposition.* His army 
amounted to 9,000 men. Not long after, Lord Howe, with a 
large fleet and 20,000 men, arrived, and also landed on the 
Island. Howe had now the command of nearly 30,000 
troops, who were well armed, well disciplined, and, in every 
other respect, prepared for the work they had to do. Wash- 
ington's army consisted of about one-third of that number, 
raw, undisciplined, and but partially armed ; new levies, 
however, were coming in daily. Clinton, after his repulse at 
Charleston, also came north, and united his fleet, or, what 
was left of it, and his army, to that of the Howes, thus 
increasing the number of the British army on Staten Island 
by 3,000 men. 

The first object to engage the attention of General Howe, 
was the conciliation of the American loyalists, and, to this 
end, he had numerous interviews with Governor Try on, and 
other prominent individuals in New York and New Jersey, 
all of whom led him to believe that large numbers of the 
people were anxious to flock to his standard the moment it 
was unfurled. Delancey, of New York, and Skinner, of 
Perth 5 Amboy, were made Brigadier- Generals, and Billop, of 
Staten Island, Colonel, of the native loyalists, or tories. 
Proclamations were issued, promising protection to the peo- 
ple, so long as they remained peaceably at home, and mani- 
fested no sympathy for the rebels, or their cause. These, 
however, had little effect ; the people knew what British 
protection meant ; proclamations had been issued by other 
British commanders, in other parts of the country, promising 
the same thing, and the protection which had been afforded 
was that which the wolf gives to the lamb. Misled by the 
specious promises which Howe had promulgated, hundreds 
of the whig inhabitants of Staten Island remained peaceably 
at home, to reap the fruits of their credulity in having 
soldiers quartered upon them — in enduring, submissively, 

* Vide App. N. (24.) 



86 ANNALS OF STATED ISLAND. 

the insults and outrages committed upon themselves and 
their families, their houses and barns openly and defiantly 
plundered, their cattle driven away or wantonly killed, their 
churches burned, and, not unfrequently, some of their own 
number barbarously, and without provocation, murdered. 

There were some, however, who had no faith in the protes- 
tations of the British commander, and too much manhood to 
conceal their sentiments ; to these the political atmosphere 
of the Island was decidedly unhealthy, and these had to 
escape for their lives. 

Among these was Col. Jacob Mersereau. He was the son 
of Joshua Mersereau and Maria Corsen his wife ; by the 
records of the Ref. Church, Port Richmond, he was baptised 
May 24th, 1730, and died in September, 1804, in the 75th year 
of his age. He resided in the old stone-house in Northfield, 
not far from Graniteville, now occupied by his son, the vener- 
able and Hon. Peter Mersereau. Soon after the beginning of 
the war, he became apprehensive for his personal safety, 
and fled to New Jersey. During his protracted residence 
there, he made occasional stealthy visits to his family by 
night, and on one of these occasions had a very narrow es- 
cape from capture. Having crossed the Sound, and con- 
cealed his boat, he took his course for home across fields, 
avoiding the public roads as much as possible. It was while 
crossing a road from one field to another, that he was met 
by a young man whom he knew well, but as neither spoke, 
he imagined the young man did not know him ; in this, how- 
ever, he was mistaken, for he was recognized at once. There 
was no British post just then nearer than Richmond, and 
thither the young tory hastened and informed the command- 
ing officer, probably Col. Simcoe, of his discovery. Prepar- 
ations were made immediately to eifect the arrest of the 
Colonel, but it was near daylight in the morning before the 
party set out. They were in no haste, for they supposed he 
intended to remain concealed at home during the day. The 
family, as was their custom, had arisen early, but they did 
not discover the soldiers until they were within a few rods of 
the house. The alarm was immediately given, which, being 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 87 

perceived by the approaching party, a rush was made, and 
as they reached the door, the Colonel sprang out of the 
upper northwest window of the house, upon a shed beneath 
it, and thence to the ground. A few rods west of the house 
is a small elevation, and it was while crossing (this that he 
was discovered. On the other side of the hill was a hedge 
row, terminating at a swamp, along which he ran on all fours, 
to keep himself out of sight, until he reached the swamp, in 
the middle of which he found a place of concealment. When 
he was discovered crossing the hill, those who had begun a 
search within were called out, and pursuit was made, but 
when the top of the hill was reached, the colonel was no- 
where to be seen. The swamp was discovered, and it was at 
once concluded that he was there concealed, but as the pur- 
suers were ignorant of its intricacies, they could proceed no 
further. Dogs were then put upon the track, which they 
followed to the edge of the swamp, where they chanced to 
scent a rabbit, and away they went in chase of the new 
game. Here the pursuit terminated, and the colonel, after 
remaining concealed the whole day, escaped during the fol- 
. lowing night to New Jersey. For a week thereafter a close 
watch was kept upon the house by day and by night. It is 
some consolation to know that the treacherous young tory 
did not receive the reward which had been offered for the 
patriot's capture. 

Immediately preceding the battle of Long Island, or Brook- 
lyn, as it is sometimes called, the American forces were posted 
in New York and on Long Island. General Greene com- 
manded at the latter place, but being confined to his bed by 
illness, his place was temporarily supplied by General Sullivan. 
This, for the Americans, was unfortunate, as the former gen- 
eral was intimately acquainted with the country, while the 
latter, being almost a stranger, knew very little of the advan- 
tages of the surroundings. 

On the 22d of August, Howe, having determined to com- 
mence active operations, crossed the Narrows from Staten 
Island to Long Island, and landed without opposition be- 
tween New Utrecht and Gravesend. There is no need 



88 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

of recapitulating the story of the battle and its unfortunate 
result — they are well known ; the British succeeded in gaining 
posssesion of New York, which was their main object. To 
keep possession after having obtained it, required a strong 
force, and, in consequence, the greater part of the British 
forces on the Island were withdrawn ; enough, however, were 
left to defend it against any force the Americans might be 
able to bring against it.'* The result of the battle, on the 
whole, was beneficial to the people of Staten Island, as it left 
fewer soldiers there to depredate upon them, and rob them of 
their substance. If the history of the sufferings of the 
people of Staten Island during the war could be written, it 
would present a picture too dreadful to contemplate. Neither 
age, sex nor condition were exempt from insults and outrages 
of the grossest character ; uo home was too sacred to protect 
its inmates from injury ; the rights of property were not 
recognized, if the invader coveted it ; even the temples of 
God were desecrated ; the law of might alone prevailed. 
Proclamations and professions of good will and protection 
had been promulgated repeatedly, but those who relied upon 
them usually reaped disappointment. It was useless to appeal 
to those high in authority, for the complaints of the people 
were unheeded, and redress for injuries, except under pecu- 
liar circumstances, could not be obtained. If a British officer' s 
horse was in need of hay or oats, a file of soldiers was sent 
to any farmer who was known to have a supply, to seize and 
take it away. If the officer himself needed a horse, the same 
method was adopted to procure one. Money, provisions and 
even bedding and household furniture were taken by force ; 
sometimes promises of payment were made, but seldom ful- 
filled. The course adopted by the British while in possession 
of the Island, effectually alienated many of the friends of 
the royal cause, and hence it was that so many of them, at 
the close of the war, eagerly took the oath of allegiance to 
the new government, and so few adhered to the cause of the 
king, and followed its fortunes. 

* Vide App. N. (25.) 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

The Tories and Whigs of Staten Island — Submission of Kings County — Interview 
between Howe and the American Commissioners at the Billop House — Eich- 
mond — Great fire in New York — Howe's Expedition into New Jersey, and at- 
tempt to reach Philadelphia by land — Knyphausen's expedition into New 
Jersey — Murder of Mrs. Caldwell — Invasion of the Island by Americans — 
Stirling's Invasion. 

The population of Staten Island, at the beginning of the 
revolution, consisted of the descendants of the early Dutch 
settlers, and English and French emigrants and their descend- 
ants. Of these, nearly all the former were whigs, or patriots ; 
those of English descent were loyalists, or tories, and the 
French were divided in their sympathies : the two latter 
classes, however, considerably outnumbered the former. 
Many of the French having settled here before the conquest 
of the province by the English, had intermarried with the 
Dutch, who were then the dominant class, and had imbibed 
Dutch opinions, manners and customs, and had even fallen 
into the use of the Dutch language. In some of the families 
bearing French names and of French descent, at the present 
day, are to be found family records, such as they are, 
written in the Dutch language. There was, however, another 
and more marked difference between the people of the several 
nationalities than mere political sentiments and opinions ; the 
Dutch were imbued with a deep religious feeling ; they were 
not generally as well educated as the English, but they could 
read and write, and keep their own accounts: the English 
had their religion, too, but they were more formal and less 
earnest and devoted than their neighbors ; the French in this, 
as in other respects, accommodated their religion to that of 
the class with which they had amalgamated. The whig cause 
throughout the country was calculated to foster religious en- 
thusiasm, for, being conscious of their own weakness as com- 



90 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

pared with the mighty power and resources of Great Britain, 
they naturally looked to a higher power than that of man to 
sustain them in what they conscientiously believed to be the 
cause of right. 

In speaking of the battle of Long Island, a British officer 
writes as follows : 

"The Hessians and our brave Highlanders gave no quarters ; 
and it was a fine sight to see with what alacrity they des- 
patched the rebels with their bayonets, after we had surrounded 
them so they could not resist. We took care to tell the Hes- 
sians that the rebels had resolved to give no quarter — to them 
in particular — which made them fight desperately, and put to 
death all that came into their hands." 

Another officer, of high rank, possessed of some humanity, 
of which the former appears to have been destitute, writes : 
"The Americans fought bravely, and (to do them justice) 
could not be broken till they were greatly outnumbered and 
taken in flank, front and rear. We were greatly shocked at 
the massacre made by the Hessians and Highlanders after the 
victory was decided." 

Shortly after the battle of Long Island, over 400 of the cit- 
izens of Kings County, besides over 40 of its civil officers, 
voluntarily offered their submission to Gen. Howe and Gov. 
Tryon, having first taken the oath of allegiance to the king. 

Howe, who was undoubtedly sincere in his oft-expressed 
desire for peace, sent General Sullivan, who had been taken 
prisoner at the battle, with a verbal message to Congress, 
requesting that body to appoint some of its members in a 
private capacity, to meet him for the purpose of adopting 
such measures as might be agreed upon for the restoration of 
peace in the country, intimating that he was clothed with 
sufficient power for that purpose. By the same messenger 
Congress returned answer that they could not send any of 
their number, except in their official capacities as members 
of their body, and a committee of that character the}^ would 
send for the purpose expressed in the message. Accordingly, 
on the 6th of September, Benjamin Franklin, of Pennsyl- 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 91 

vania ; John Adams, of Massachusetts, and Edward Rut- 
ledge, of South Carolina, were appointed as such committee. 
On the 14th they met Howe on Staten Island ; the interview 
took place in the "Old Billop House," still standing. It had 
been occupied as a barrack for soldiers, and was in an ex- 
ceedingly filthy condition ; but one room had been cleaned 
and purified, and furniture placed therein, for the purpose of 
the meeting. Howe met the committee in a courteous manner, 
and at once proceeded to explain the nature of the power 
with which he had been invested, which were simply to ex- 
tend the royal clemency and full pardon to all repentant 
rebels who would lay down their arms and return to their al- 
legiance. The committee informed him that they were not 
authorized to entertain any propositions which did not recog- 
nize the political independence of the colonies. Howe replied 
that he had a great regard for the Americans as a people, 
but that recognition of their independence was a matter be- 
yond his authority, and could not for a moment be enter- 
tained, and that their precipitancy was painful to him and 
perilous to themselves. Franklin answered that the people 
of America would endeavor to take good care of themselves, 
and thus alleviate as much as possible the pain his lordship 
might feel in consequence of any severities he might deem it 
his duty to adopt. This terminated the brief interview, and 
the committee rose to depart. Howe politely accompanied 
them to the shore, the party walking, both in coming and re- 
turning, between long lines of grenadiers, who, to use the 
language of Mr. Adams, "looked as fierce as ten furies, and 
making all the grimaces and gestures, and motions of their 
muskets, with bayonets fixed, which, I suppose, military 
etiquette requires, but which we neither understood nor re- 
garded." On the way down, his lordship again expressed 
his regret that he was unable to regard them as public char- 
acters, to which Mr. Adams replied, "your lordship may 
consider me in what light you please, and indeed, I should 
be willing to consider myself for a few moments in any char- 
acter which would be agreeable to your lordship, except that 



92 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

of a British subject." To this Howe replied, u Mr. Adams 
appears to be a decided character." 

The consequence of this exhibition of Mr. Adam' s independ- 
ent and fearless spirit was subsequently apparent, when the 
list of unpardonable rebels was published, prominent among 
which was the name of John Adams. It must have been 
humiliating in the extreme to the pride and arrogance of the 
British government to be obliged to receive this proscribed 
rebel as the first minister plenipotentiary of the new govern- 
ment of the United States of America. The remark of Mr. 
Adams did not prevent Lord Howe continuing his courtesy, 
for he sent them over to Perth Amboy in his own barge. A 
native annalist,* speaking of this interview, says, "This 
momentous interview at the old Billop House, between the 
old world and the new, was an event regarded with extreme 
solicitude by the people of both at that day. With the 
developments of time, it rises into the grandeur of a great 
battle-point and monument of history. The interview was 
brief. There was no agreement, no reconciliation. Inde- 
pendence was maintained. The result was limned by the 
hand of God, and is seen in the progress of a continent and the 
achievements of a century all over the world." 

When the British took possession of Staten Island, they 
immediately threw up strong intrenchments. Simcoe says: 
"In the distribution of quarters for the remaining winter, 
Richmond was allotted to the Queen's Rangers. This post 
was in the centre of the Island, and consisted of three bad 
redoubts, so contracted, at various times and in such a 
manner, as to be of little mutual assistance ; the spaces be- 
tween these redoubts had been occupied by the huts of the 
troops, wretchedly made of mud ;" these Lieut. Col. Simcoe 
had thrown down, and his purpose was to build ranges of log 
houses, which might join the redoubts, and being loop-holed, 
might become a very defensible curtain. Other fortifications 
were erected in other parts of the Island — one at New 

* Vide App. N. (8.) 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 93 

Brighton, on the height now know at Fort Hill, which 
commanded the entrance to the Kills ; another was bnilt at 
the Narrows, near the site of the present national fortifications, 
and in several other places. Many remnants of British oc- 
cupancy have been found in and around these old fortifi- 
cations, such as cannon balls, bullets, gun locks, &c. 

On the 21st of September, 1776, a great fire occured in New 
York ; it begun on the wharf at the foot of Whitehall street, 
and was driven by a southeast wind towards the North river, 
consuming in its course the Lutheran Church and Trinity 
Church, and did not stop until it reached Mortlike street (now 
Barclay;) the number of buildings destroyed was 493. 

Later iu the autumn of this year, the British began to make 
predatory excursions from Staten Island into New Jersey 
along the Raritan, and these were continued through the war 
with various successes. Howe, having determined to make an 
effort to obtain possession of Philadelphia, left Clinton in 
command at New York, and began his march across New 
Jersey. 

Washington was strongly entrenched at Morristown, and 
had made preparations to dispute Howe's passage across the 
State, whenever a fitting opportunity presented itself. Small 
detachments were sent out for the purpose of reconnoitering 
and annoying the British, while Howe resorted to various 
feints to draw Washington out, in all of which he failed. 
Thwarted in his purpose of crossing the State, the British 
general turned towards Amboy on his retreat to Staten 
Island, and committed terrible devastation on his way, which 
so exasperated the people that even his retreat became peril- 
ous. General Greene hung upon his rear, striking whenever 
opportunity permitted. On the 22d of June, 1777, the 
British general, having arrived at Amboy the day before, 
sent all his heavy baggage and other incumbrances, together 
with a part of his troops, over to Staten Island ; but before he 
had time to transport the whole of his forces across the 
water, he received information that Washington had left his 
strong position, and was advancing to meet him. On the 25th, 



94 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

in consequence of this information, which, however, proved 
to be unfounded, he recalled all his forces, and on the morn- 
ing of the 26th advanced from Amboy to meet the American 
army. He sent Cornwallis with a strong force to cut off a 
detachment of the Americans, under Lord Stirling and 
General Maxwell, who were advantageously posted on some 
high grounds, but who were obliged to abandon the advan- 
tages of their positions, being, greatly outnumbered by the 
British. They did not retreat, however, until a severe 
skirmish had taken place. 

Having by this time learned that the report of the advance 
of Washington was premature, and abandoning all hope of 
drawing him out of his intrenchments, Howe turned his face 
once more towards Staten Island. 

Being foiled in his effort to reach Philadelphia by land, 
Sir William Howe resolved upon going thither by water. 
Accordingly he commenced the embarkation of his army on 
the 5th of July, but it was not until the 23d of that month 
that the fleet, consisting of 267 sail, passed Sandy Hook. 
His movements, after putting to sea, greatly perplexed 
Washington ; if, as was reported, it was his intention to re- 
turn and sail up the North river to the relief of Burgoyne, 
it was necessary that an effort should be made to prevent 
him ; if, however, on the other hand, he was aiming at 
Philadelphia, it was necessary that he should be met in that 
direction. There was one of two opposite courses to be 
pursued, and it was not until he learned that the British fleet 
had attempted to pass up the Delaware, but had been pre- 
vented by obstructions to the navigation of that stream, and 
was then actually coming up the Chesapeake, that his per- 
plexities were removed. 

When Howe sailed for Philadelphia he left General Knyp- 
hausen in command at Staten Island. 

In the early part of the year 1780, among the thousand re- 
ports which were rife throughout the country, and which 
reached his ear, was one that the American army in New 
Jersey was in a mutinous condition, and that the people of 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 95 

that State were desirous of returning to their allegiance to the 
British crown. To give the mutinous soldiers an opportunity 
for desertion, and the disaffected citizens the facilities for 
submission, Knyphausen determined to invade the State. 
Accordingly, on the 6th of June, he crossed over from Stat- 
en Island to Elizabethtown with an army of 5,000 men. 
From this place he marched towards Springfield by way of 
Connecticut Farms, where he halted. Before reaching that 
place, however, he discovered that the reports of disaffection 
among the people were entirely without foundation ; instead 
of being received with open arms, as he had expected, the 
hostile demonstrations of the people were more decided than 
ever ; out of every ditch, from every hedgerow, from behind 
every tree in orchard or forest, in the line of his march, he 
was met by "the leaden messengers of death." Though the 
people almost without exception did what they could to op- 
pose his progress, they were not sufficiently numerous to 
combine and make a stand. The G-erman general's disap- 
pointment was not only great, but he was exasperated to such 
a degree, that he caused the village, with its church, to be 
burned, before he attempted to retrace his steps. The minis- 
ter' s wife, who had remained at home, supposing that her sex 
would be her protection, was deliberately shot through a win- 
dow; permission, however, was graciously given to remove the 
body before burning the house. This cold-blooded murder 
of Mrs. Caldwell produced a thrill of horror throughout the 
country, and no one act of British brutality more excited the 
indignation and hatred of the people towards their enemies, 
than this. Notwithstanding the weakness of Washington's 
army, preparations were hastily made to meet the invaders, 
and if possible, to drive them back, but their precipitated re- 
treat prevented a battle. 

The British affected to believe that it was was the desire of 
Washington to obtain possession of the post at Richmond, 
though what peculiar value either he or they attached to it 
in a military point of view, except that it commanded one of 
the entrances to the Island through the Fresh Kills, is not ap- 



96 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

parent. To give the rebels, as well as Ms own semi-barbarous 
Hessians, employment, Knyphausen sent out frequent expe- 
ditions from the Island into the Jerseys, where the most hor- 
rid atrocities were sometimes committed. 

These were not usually sent forth on their errands of rob- 
bery and murder, unless they were known to be much supe- 
rior in number to the patriots, who were likely to meet and 
oppose them, or had same other important advantage. These 
predatory excursions, however, were not confined to the 
British, the Americans, on their part, sadly annoyed their en- 
emies by striking at them whenever tbe opportunity offered. 
The first of the hostile demonstrations on the part of the pa- 
triots occurred on the 17th day of October, 1776. General 
Hugh Mercer, who was in command of the American forces in 
that part of New Jersey contiguous to Staten Island, planned 
an attack upon the British entrenchments at Richmond ; 
the forces sent on this expedition were under the command 
of Col. Griffin. They were so disposed as to make the attack 
upon all the available sides simultaneously. They succeeded 
in reaching the place before daylight, but the enen^ had 
been informed of their approach ; a skirmish ensued, which 
resulted in the retreat of the British, leaving two or three 
men dead, some wounded and dying, and seventeen prisoners 
in the hands of the Americans, beside a standard or two, and 
arms. 

On the 8th of August, 1777, a party of Americans crossed 
the Kills and landed somewhere on the shore at West New 
Brighton, and directed their course for Richmond. As they 
approached that village, they were met by a party of British, 
who, after a slight resistance, retreated slowly until they 
reached St. Andrews Church, which they entered ; the 
Americans fired at the windows until every pane of glass 
had been broken ; they then approached, and fired through 
the broken windows until the British were driven out ; a 
reinforcement from the vicinity of the quarantine had been 
hurried forward, who reached Richmond j ust as the church 
had been vacated. It was now the turn of the Americans to 



• ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 97 

retreat, which they did by the Fresh Kill road, keeping the 
prisoners which they had taken in their rear. These con- 
sisted, not of soldiers only, bnt of citizens also, whom they 
had captured on their way ; this prevented the British from 
firing, lest they should kill their own friends, or at least non- 
combatants. After the Americans had descended the hill and 
crossed the bridge at the locality now known as Laf orge' s 
Store, Westfield, they concealed themselves in a cornfield, 
where they waited until their pursuers were within reach, 
when they fired a volley at them, and the British colonel in 
command was killed. Continning their retreat until they 
reached the shore of the Sound, they drove their prisoners, 
some thirty in number, into a large hog-sty, while they them- 
selves seized what boats they required, and effected their 
escape. While they were crossing, the British reached the 
shore and opened upon them with their artillery, which they 
had not yet had opportunity for using, and killed several of 
them.* 

Another blow was struck at the British on Staten Island by 
Lord Stirling in the winter of 1779, which was afterwards 
spoken of as "the hard winter." The Kills and the Sound 
were frozen over so that communication between the Island 
and the mainland was easy ; the bay was also bridged with 
ice, but a passage for boats was kept open until the bitter 
cold closed that also. With about 2,000 men, the Amer- 
ican commander crossed the Sound, designing to sur- 
prise " Skinner's New Corps," but the tories on the Island 
did not permit their friends to be surprised. Notice of the 
expedition was at once sent to the nearest post, and prepara- 
tions were promptly made to meet the invaders. Tradition 
says that the Americans crossed at Elizabethtown, and 
marched along the shore to Port Eichmond, where they were 
met by the British, and after a sharp skirmish, were driven 
back. An eye-witness said that a detachment of the Amer- 
icans attempted to pass up the Mill Road, now known as 

* Vide App. N. (26.) 



98 ANJSTALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

Columbia Street, but the snow was so deep they were obliged 
to return.* This was the inwasion alluded to in the old 
records, where Bedell and Micheau,f were paid "for powder 
delivered by Clonell Bilop' s order, when the Island was in- 
waded." 

The winter of 1779-80 was remarkably severe ; the waters 
surrounding the Island were firmly frozen over, so that troops, 
cannon and military stores of all descriptions were conveyed 
from New York to the Island on the ice. An old resident, 
now some years deceased, informed the writer that on one oc- 
casion during that winter he visited some of his relatives on 
Long Island ; he entered his sleigh at his own door on Staten 
Island, and did not leave it until he reached his relative's 
door at New Lots, in Kings County. 

Rimngtorts Gazette (New York) of that year has the fol- 
lowing items : 

Jan. 29, 1780. This day several persons came over on the 
ice from Staten Island. 

Feb. 1. A four-horse sleigh came over on the ice from 
Staten Island. 

* Vide App. N. (27.) \ Ibid. (28.) 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 99 



CHAPTER XIV. 

Lt. Col. Simcoe — His Adventures in New Jersey — His Capture — Negotiations for 
Peace— Was Washington ever on Staten Island? — His Opinion of the People— 
Dwellings of the Hessians. 

One of the most active of the British officers, and if his 
biographer is worthy of credit, one of the most bitter and re- 
lentless of the enemies of America, stationed upon Staten 
Island during the revolution, was Lieutenant-Colonel John 
Graves Simcoe. When the British army first took possession 
of Staten Island, a provincial corps, called "The Queen's 
Rangers," was then newly raised, and Simcoe solicited the 
command of it, but did not succeed in obtaining it until after 
the battle of Brandywine in October, 1777. He was then 
about 24 years of age. His biographer says, "he knew that 
common opinion had imprinted on the partisan the most 
dishonorable stain, and associated the idea with that of dis- 
honesty, rapine and falsehood," and apologizes for his eager- 
ness to obtain this command by saying that he considered it 
the best source of instruction, and a means of acquiring a 
habit of self-dependence for resources. To judge from his 
subsequent exploits, and the egregious misrepresentations of 
his "Journal," "common opinion" was justified in its esti- 
mate both of the corps and its commander. He began his 
career by publishing the following advertisement in Riving - 
tori's Royal Gazette, printed and published in New York. 

"All Aspiring Heroes 
Have now an opportunity of distinguishing themselves by joining 
THE QUEEN'S BANGERS, 
Commanded by 
Lieutenant Colonel Simcoe. 
. Any spirited young man will receive every encouragement, be im- 
mediately mounted on an elegant horse, and furnished with clothing, 



100 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

accoutrements, etc., to the amount of Forty Guineas, by applying to 
Cornet Spencer, at his quarters, No. 1033 "Water Street, or his ren- 
dezvous, Hewitt's Tavern, near the Coffee House, and the defeat at 
Brandy-wine on Golden Hill. Ji^* "Whoever brings a Recruit, shall 
instantly receive Two Guineas. 

Vwant Bex et Begina." 

That such an officer, whose malignity was so often and so 
barbarously manifested wherever he served, should be laud- 
ed by British officers and writers, is not to be wondered at. 
The services of this corps were not confined to Staten Island 
and its vicinity— it followed in the wake of the British army 
when it went South, and partook of all its vicissitudes there. 
Sir Henry Clinton said of it, "the Queen's Rangers have 
killed or taken twice their own numbers," and adds, " they 
had not met with a single reverse," totally oblivious of its 
commander's capture and imprisonment by the Americans in 
New Jersey, and some other mishaps which befel him else- 
where. These assertions were made by Clinton in 1780 ; if 
he had delayed only one short year longer, he would have 
qualified, or totally omitted his extravagant laudations, for 
Lafayette, describing Simcoe's retreat in Virginia, says, "the 
whole British army came out to save Simcoe. They retired 
next morning when our army came within striking distance." 

The general return of officers and privates surrendered 
prisoners of war on the 19th of October, 1781, the day of the 
surrender of Cornwallis, enumerates among the officers of 
the Queen' s Rangers, one lieutenant colonel : this was Simcoe. 
He was the coadjutor of Colonel Bill op in enforcing with 
great severity the regulations of the military police, while 
serving on Staten Island. In the "Journal" referred to 
above, mention is made of an armed vessel stationed at 
Billop's Point, which undoubtedly was the "gun-boat" so 
often alluded to in the old county records, and the main- 
taining of which was a charge upon the people of the 
county. The design of this vessel was to prevent inter- 
course between the people of the Island and those of New. 
Jersey, a measure of great severity, when it is remembered 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 101 

that before the war there was a considerable commercial as well 
as social intercourse between the two places. Allusion is 
also made in the Journal to a gun-boat at Richmond, which 
is probably the same vessel stationed in the Fresh Kills under 
the protection of the fort on the heights near Ketchum's mill, 
when not in active service elsewhere. Simcoe desired to be 
furnished with two gun-boats, twenty batteaux, and a sloop, 
the batteaux to be mounted on wheels, that they might 
readily be conveyed from Richmond across land, to the 
south beach, with which he proposed to keep the patriot 
forces in a state of constant alarm from Sandy Hook to 
Newark Bay, and force Washington to give up the coast 
from Middletown to Brunswick, but the Commander-in-Chief 
did not appear to appreciate the value of the suggestion. 

On the 22d of June, 1780, Simcoe and his Rangers were sent 
into New Jersey to join Knyphausen in an attack on the 
Americans, who were stationed beyond Elizabethtown. They 
crossed the Sound on a bridge of boats, and on the same day 
made an unsuccessful attack upon the Continentals. The 
next day they marched towards Springfield, where a small 
party of Americans were also temporarily stationed, and at- 
tempted to surround them ; this was also a failure. After 
various marchings and counter-marchings, during which 
nothing of importance was achieved, they retired, and by the 
same bridge re-crossed the Sound to Staten Island. 

There were numerous marauding expeditions sent from the 
Island into various parts of New Jersey, which were not led 
by Simcoe, but by other officers almost as savage and brutal 
in their treatment of such Americans as were so unfortunate 
as to fall into their hands. 

Towards the end of October, 1780, there was a great excite- 
ment among the British on Staten Island, caused by a rumor 
that Lafayette had arrived in the vicinity of Elizabethtown 
with, a large force, and furnished with boats on wheels, and 
that he meditated an attack upon the British posts on the 
Island. Every precaution was taken to prevent a surprise ; 
the defences were all strengthened, and defects which they 



102 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

supposed would not be observed by the inexperienced and 
uneducated eyes of the American officers, but which the more 
cultivated observation of the French would readily detect, 
were repaired so far as time and means permitted. Simcoe 
marched his Rangers down from Richmond to Billop's Point 
toward the close of the day, in full view of the people on the 
opposite shore, to create the impression that an inroad into 
New Jersey was about to be made, and then marched them 
back again through the interior after dark. Reinforcements 
were sent from New York city, and Simcoe issued the fol- 
lowing proclamation : 

"The Lt. Colonel has received information that M. 
Lafayette, a Frenchman, at the head of some of his majesty's 
deluded subjects, has threatened to plant French colors on 
the Richmond redoubts. The Lt. Colonel believes the report 
to be a gasconade; but as the evident ruin of the enemy's 
affairs may prompt them to some desperate attempt, the 
Queen's Rangers will lay in their clothes this night, and 
have their bayonets in perfect good order." 

He also had orders from the Commander-in-Chief to aban- 
don his post, "if the enemy should land in such force as to 
make, in his opinion, the remaining there attended with 
risk." Nothing, however, came of this alarm.. 
. The most serious of Simcoe' s experiences, while stationed 
here, occurred in October of the previous year. A rumor 
had reached the British Commander-in-Chief, that prepara- 
tions were being made to attack the city of New York ; that 
fifty boats, each capable of holding seventy men, were on the 
way from the Delaware to Washington's army, and that they 
were all collected together at a certain point on the Raritan 
river. Simcoe proposed to go there and burn them, and 
Clinton approved the plan, and directed him to carry it into 
execution. He had, however, a wholesome dread of Lee's 
cavalry, who, he had heard, had recently been at Monmouth, 
and sent to Clinton for information concerning this corps. 
Clinton replied that, according to the last intelligence, Lee 
was no longer in that part of the country, nor were there any 



ANNALS of staten island. 103 

other troops in the way, except a few Jersey militiamen. 
Simcoe, however, knew that these were not to be despised, 
for they were partly composed of such refugees from Staten, 
Long and York Islands, as had been driven from their homes 
by the British ; besides, he had before come in contact with 
these " virulent principled " characters, who had an execrable 
custom of attacking British foraging parties from their coverts, 
" and insulting their very outposts, and had thus acquired a 
great degree of self-confidence and activity." After obtain- 
ing the aid of one Sandford, a Jersey tory, captain of a troop 
on Long Island, who was supposed to be familiar with the 
topography of that part of the country, as a guide, and 
sending Major Armstrong to South River, where he was to 
ambuscade his troops, Simcoe started at eight o'clock in the 
evening from Richmond, and marched to Billop's Point. 
The boats which were to be at the Point at twelve o' clock to 
convey them over, did not arrive until three in the morning, 
when the crossing was effected. His plan was to reach the 
place where the American boats were said to be collected, 
burn them, and then return by way of New Brunswick, and 
thence to South Amboy, where Armstrong' s ambuscade was 
to be placed, into which he proposed to lead the American 
forces who might follow him ; but, in the event of any mis- 
hap, Armstrong was directed to give credit to any one who 
could give the countersign of "Clinton and Montrose." On 
their way they overtook a man named Crow, who said, upon 
being questioned why he was out so late, that he had "only 
been sparking;" the poor fellow was very communicative, 
believing that he had fallen in with a party of Americans. 
When they arrived at Quibbletown, a party of men with 
knapsacks came out of a tavern, whom the Rangers prepared 
to attack ; but Simcoe, to carry out the delusion that they 
were a part of Washington's army, cried out, "These are not 
the tories we are in search of;" and the presence of Crow 
among them, who was well known, confirmed the people 
collected together in the idea that they were what they pre- 
tended to be. There was one man among the people, how- 



104 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

ever, who was not so easily deceived ; he knew Simcoe by 
sight, and as soon as the party had left, sent an express to 
Governor Livingston, then at New Brunswick. 

The British were then guided by a boy, who believed Sand- 
ford to be a French officer, because he was dressed in red. 
This lad was anxious to communicate all he knew, which 
was not a great deal, but among that little was the unwelcome 
intelligence that all the boats except eighteen had been sent 
on to Washington's camp. This information proved to be 
correct. Simcoe proceeded at once to burn the boats, lament- 
ing, however, that he had not arrived earlier, that he might 
have captured the whole of them, and taken them down the 
river ; this he could not do now, as the people were collecting 
from all directions, and his situation was becoming hourly 
more perilous. Alarm guns were heard all over the country, 
and the people, who had already collected, fired at them as 
they passed, wounding several of the soldiers. Shots were 
also fired at them from the front, and fearful of an ambus- 
cade, he attempted to lead his troops across some fields, and 
"found himself, when he recovered his senses, prisoner with 
the enemy, his horse having been killed with five bullets, 
and himself stunned by the violence of his fall." 

In the haste of their retreat, some time elapsed before Sim- 
coe's absence was discovered. A halt was immediately or- 
dered, and the surgeon, Kellock, was sent back with a flag 
of truce to inquire for the missing officer. The Americans 
went forward in confidence to meet the flag, when Sandford, 
the Jersey tory, ordered a file of men to fire upon them, and 
Captain Yoorheis, of the Continental army, was killed. The 
party thus treacherously attacked fell back, and the British 
were compelled to return without obtaining the information 
they had come to seek. When they reached South River 
where Armstrong had ambuscaded, the two parties united 
and returned to Staten Island. 

Simcoe, at the time of his capture, had some narrow es- 
capes ; a boy was prevented from bayoneting him by being- 
told that he was dead already ;* a man declared he would 

* Vide App. N (29.) 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 105 

have shot him if he had known he was a colonel, but as he 
imagined that " all colonels wore lace," and this man wore 
none, he was deceived ; the people were farious at the death 
of Captain Voorheis, who was a favorite with them, and loud 
threats were made to assassinate the captive. Simcoe's repu- 
tation had preceded him, and the people were inclined to bal- 
ance accounts with him, and put it out of his power to do 
them any more mischief ; the intervention of Governor Liv- 
ingston alone saved him from the popular fury. He was im- 
mediately taken to prison, where he remained until the 31st 
day of December. Permission was given to his servant, and 
surgeon Kellock, to attend him, an indulgence which was 
persistently denied to American officers, prisoners with the 
British. On the 28th, he was permitted, on account of his 
health, to take up his abode in a tavern in Bordentown, on 
parole. This place, being on the opposite side of the State, 
and therefore at a distance from the scenes of his former in- 
cursions, the people were not so embittered against him, 
though his reputation had reached even there, and a few 
manifested their dislike to his presence among them, yet the 
majority conducted themselves towards him with forbearance, 
and sometimes with kindness. 

When Colonel Christopher Billop was captured and com- 
mitted to the jail of Burlington County, Simcoe was released 
from his parole, and taken to prison with him. The reason 
for this step will appear presently. The mittimus of Elias 
Boudinot, Commissary of Prisoners, which will be found in 
another place, commanded Billop to be ironed, chained down 
to the floor, and fed on bread and water ; the sama treatment 
-was ordered for Simcoe. The Commissary expressed his 
regret that he was compelled to resort to such severe measures, 
and advised Billop to write to New York to procure a relax- 
ation of the sufferings of two American officers confined there 
by the British, and concluded by saying, "It seems nothing 
short of retaliation will teach Britons to act like men of hu- 
manity." This was the reason why Billop was dealt with so 
severely, and one of the reasons why the same treatment was 



106 ANNA.LS OF STATEIST ISLAND. 

meted out to Simcoe. Another reason is given in a letter 
from Governor Livingston, to whom he had written for per- 
mission to go to Staten Island on parole, to effect the exchange 
of Billop and himself. The Governor says, " Your counter- 
acting the express terms of your parole at Bordentown, and 
your having been heard to say that whenever you should ap- 
prehend yourself in danger of being insulted by the people, 
you should think yourself at liberty to effect your escape (of 
which danger you doubtless intended to be the judge,) not to 
mention that your present situation is your best security 
against all popular violence, in case there were any grounds 
for such apprehension," and this extract gives the other 
reason for the severity with which he was treated. In reply 
to an inquiry in Simcoe' s letter, the Governor further says : 
"To your question whether private resentment is harbored 
against you, I answer, sir, public bodies are not actuated 
by private resentment, but the actions of individuals of a 
public nature, such as cruelty to prisoners, may nevertheless 
properly occasion towards such individuals a line of conduct 
very different from what is observed towards those of an op- 
posite character, and this with as little color for complaining 
of personal resentment, as of the civil magistrate's punishing 
a public offender ; but as no such charge has been proved 
(though many have been alleged against you,) I have no rea- 
son to think that such reports have influenced this govern- 
ment in the measures hitherto directed concerning you." 

Simcoe, in his reply to the Governor, assumes a deal of in- 
dignation, and says, "You cannot force yourself to believe, 
sir, that I ever harbored a thought of violating my parole," 
and at the close of his letter, remarks — and the Governor . 
must have smiled when he read it — "cruelty is contrary to 
my nature, my education, and my obedience to my orders." 

He continued to write to the Governor, who probably be- 
came weary of his importunities, and at length ceased to re- 
ply. He then addressed himself to General Washington, 
who also made no reply, but he probably did what was better ; 
an exchange was effected, and Billop and Simcoe were both 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 107 

released. Several plans were contrived by the friends of the 
two prisoners to effect their release, but they were all thwart- 
ed in various ways. 

After the arrest and confinement of Major Andre, Simcoe 
offered his services and that of his Rangers to the Command- 
er-in-Chief, to effect his release, but his offer was not accept- 
ed. He termed the execution of Andre a "useless murder." 

We have now done with Simcoe in connection with Staten 
Island and the war of the revolution. In consideration of 
his valuable services, his government, after the war, reward- 
ed him with the appointment of governor of Upper Canada, 
where he continued to manifest his hostility towards the 
United States by tampering with the Indians, a disposition 
which was probably considered a qualification for the office. 

On the 19th of October, 1781, Cornwallis capitulated at 
Yorktown ; this virtually terminated the war. Both coun- 
tries were weary of it. The people of Great Britain com- 
plained bitterly of the expenses of the war, which were an- 
nually increasing ; they had been encouraged to bear these, 
sustained by the hope of ultimate reimbursement by the ex- 
clusive trade of the subjugated colonies. The campaign in 
Virginia was regarded by both parties as probably the last of 
the struggle ; the English knew that the resources of Ameri- 
ca were well nigh exhausted, and the Americans were well 
informed of the discontent prevailing in England, and the ap- 
prehensions of the government of a revolution at home ; 
therefore each party regarded the campaign of 1781 as the 
decisive. When the capitulation took place, it produced the 
most unbounded joy in America, but consternation in Eng- 
iand. The government, it is true, were making preparations 
for carrying on the war with renewed energy, but the pop- 
ular feeling was strongly in favor of its discontinuance ; 
public meetings were held in various places, attended with 
demonstrations which it would have been imprudent to disre- 
gard, and towards the close of February, measures were in- 
troduced into Parliament which eventually resulted in peace. 
In the interim, however, both army organizations were main- 



8 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

tained, though both remained passive ; "there was no war, 
there was no peace." The soldiers of both armies, having 
nothing else to occupy them, organized predatory expeditions 
in the neighborhood where they happened to be stationed. 

In this respect, Staten Island was peculiarly unfortunate. 
Occupied by a hostile army, the people of the Island were 
preyed upon by desperadoes living in their midst, while the 
patriots on the opposite side of the Sound regarded them as 
tories, and therefore legitimate objects of plunder. They 
were thus, as it were, placed between two fires, and powerless 
to defend themselves against either. 

Was General Washington ever on Staten Island ? The only 
evidence of the fact which is attainable at this day is con- 
tained in the extract from his carefully kept accounts with 
the government of the United States, which we here present. 

« 1776. 

Ap ls 25th, To the Exp s of myself and party recc tg the 

sev 1 landing places on Staten Island £16 10 0." 

It may be said that the reconnoitering, which is almost un- 
intelligibly abbreviated in the original account, might have 
been done on the water, and quite as efficiently as on the 
land. The following objections, however, exist to this view 
of the subject : 

First. — The object of Washington was to erect fortifications 
and other defences on the most eligible sites, as the British 
did when they took possession on the following July ; and 
some parts of the shores — perhaps the most important — could 
not be examined with such an object in view, from any posi- 
tion attainable on the water. 

Second. — The Commander-in-Chief expresses himself in the 
above extracts, in terms similar to those used in other parts 
of his accounts for similar services in places not accessible 
by water, and 

lliird. — There were two or three British vessels -of- war 
lying near the Island, on one of which Governor Try on had 
taken up his quarters, and from which he kept up an inter- 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 109 

course with royalists on the Island, and a reconnoitering of 
the shores by water would not have been permitted, to say 
nothing of the danger of capture. 

Washington was as prompt to perceive the natural advan- 
tages of Staten Island in a military point of view as were the 
British. Within a week after his personal visit to the city, 
he established a look-out at the Narrows, which, when the 
British made their appearance, sent a message by express 
that forty of the enemy's vessels were in sight. This infor- 
mation was at once forwarded to the several posts on the 
Hudson, with instructions to prepare to give them a warm 
reception if they should attempt to ascend the river. But 
the ships, upon their arrival, anchored off Staten Island, and 
landed their troops, and the hill sides were soon covered with 
their white tents. Military works were at once erected upon 
every available point, thus intimating their intention of tak- 
ing a permanent possession. 

The opinion which Washington had formed of the people 
of Staten Island, as well as of their immediate neighbors at 
Amboy, may be learned from the following extract from one 
of his letters : 

" The known disaffection of the people of Amboy, and the 
treachery of those of Staten Island, who, after the fairest 
professions, have shown themselves our inveterate enemies, 
have induced me to give directions that all persons of known 
enmity and doubtful character should be removed from these 
places." 

After the British had entrenched themselves upon Staten 
Island, several expeditions were planned against them by the 
patriots, some of which were carried out with various degrees 
of success, as has elsewhere been stated, but others died 
almost in their inception. Of these latter the following was 
the most daring. One Bphraim Anderson contrived a plan 
for destroying the enemy's fleet in the harbor by means of 
fire ships, the effort to be seconded by a descent upon the 
British forces stationed upon the Island. General Putnam 
approved of the proposed attempt, and communicated the 



110 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

particulars in a letter to General Gates. The scheme was not 
carried into effect, because time failed to construct the num- 
ber of vessels which were deemed necessary to its success. 
Several night attacks were also planned, but which for 
various reasons were never made. 

There is tradition that an attempt was made by a small 
party of patriots from New Jersey, to land at night, upon 
the Island, in the small cove on the shores of the Kills, im- 
mediately west of the Pelton house ; they were met, however, 
by a party of British, and a skirmish ensued, during which 
a General Skinner* was either killed or mortally wounded. 

The enemy's forces on the Island, both native and foreign, 
were exceedingly troublesome to the people of New Jersey. 
John Jay, in writing to Gov. Morris, said that if he had been 
invested with the power, he would have desolated all Long 
Island, Staten Island and New York, and withdrawn the 
Continental troops into the interior, and thus rendered the 
occupation of these places by the British of no advantage to 
them. 

As late as 1832 the remains of some of the dwelling places 
of the Hessian soldiers were still distinctly to be seen along 
the Richmond Road, at the foot of the hill in the rear of 
Stapleton. These consisted of excavations in the side of the 
hill, eight or ten feet square, covered with planks of pieces of 
timber, upon which earth or sods had been placed to form 
roofs ; the fronts had been boarded up, and probably the 
sides. How they had been warmed in winter, or whether 
they had been warmed at all, was not apparent. They must 
have been miserably dark, damp caves, but probably, in the 
opinion of their English masters, good enough for Dutch 
mercenaries. 

* Vide App. N. (30.) 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. HI 



CHAPTER XV. 

Capt. Hyler's Adventures — Nathaniel Robbins — The Prall families robbed — 
Futile attempt to rob John Bodine — Insolent conduct of two British officers — 
A soldier scalded with boiling soap — Soldiers stabbed with hay forks — Attempt 
to kidnap a young lady frustrated — Instance of prompt decision — Soldier shot 
by a boy — Attempt to rob a farmer of his horse — Burglars discovered by 
means of a button — Evacuation of the Island — An eye-witness' account of it. 

The New Jersey Gazette of Sept. 25th, 1782, contains the 
following obituary notice : "Died Sept. 6, 1782, after a tedious 
and painful illness, which he bore with a great deal of forti- 
tude, the brave Capt. Adam Hyler, of New Brunswick. His 
many enterprising acts in annoying and distressing the enemy 
endeared him to the patriotic part of his acquaintance. His 
remains were decently interred, with a display of the honors 
of war, in the Dutch burial ground, attended by a very 
numerous concourse of his acquaintances." We learn, fur- 
ther, from Rimngtorts Hoy at Gazette, that "Hyler died of a 
wound in the knee, accidentally given by himself some 
time ago." 

This Capt. Adam Hyler was an active partisan in and 
about that part of New Jersey where he resided. As his 
expeditions against the enemy were chiefly conducted by 
water, and in small boats, it is probable that he held his 
title of Captain by courtesy, and not by commission. The 
following are some of his exploits, as related in the papers 
of that period. 

In April, 1781, two rebel whale boats, one commanded by 
Hyler, the other by Dickie, attacked and captured a sloop 
from New York ; after plundering the vessel of goods of 
considerable value, she was ransomed for 500 hard dollars. 
This took place off Coney Island. 

On Sunday night, the 15th of the same month, just one 



112 ANNALS OF STATEJST ISLAND. 

week after the capture of the sloop, Hyler went over to Gow- 
anns, L. L, and brought off a Hessian Major and Ensign, 
with their servants. They were in the centre of two picket 
guards, yet the address of Hyler was such that the guards 
were not alarmed till he was out of their power. The pris- 
oners were carried safely into New Jersey. 

During a Saturday night in May, of the same year, Hyler 
captured a pilot boat and two other boats between Robin's 
Reef * and Yellow Hook with a single whale boat. The pilot 
boat was plundered of valuable articles, and then redeemed 
for four hundred dollars. 

On a Thursday night in June, of the same year, the house 
of Nicholas Schenck, three miles south of Flatbush, was sur- 
prised by the crews of two rebel whale boats. The family 
were at supper, and not prepared to make resistance. They 
wounded a man named Bogart with a bayonet, and took 
what valuables he had on his person ; they then relieved the 
family of the plate they could find, and decamped. 

About the same time Hyler entered a house at Canarsie, 
where a sergeant's guard were at supper, seized their arms, 
which were standing in the hall, borrowed their silver spoons, 
and sent the guards to report themselves to their officer. 

In August of the same year, Hyler, with his companions 
went three and a half miles into the country on Long Island, 
and captured Colonel Jerome Lott, who was notorious for his 
cruelty to American prisoners. They also secured about 
£600 in cash, and a bag supposed to contain guineas. On 
their passage up the Raritan, the bag was opened for the 
purpose of dividing the contents, and found to contain only 
half pennies, being the church collections. The Colonel was 
obliged to ransom his negroes, two of whom had also been 
taken, and he was then released on his parole. 

In January, 1782, a party of infantry from Staten Island in 
six boats went up the Raritan to New Brunswick, and before 
daylight succeeded in capturing all Hyler' s boats. In less 

* Vide App. N. (31.) 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 113 

than a month thereafter Hyler launched a large new boat 
built for 30 oars. 

The following, taken from a paper published in New York, 
in the interests of the royalists, is another instance of the 
enterprise and indomitable resolution of Hyler. The date is 
July 15, 1782. 

" Last Tuesday night Mr. Hyler took 2 fishing boats near 
the Narrows, and ransomed them for $100 each. One of 
them has been twice captured." 

The same day "a little before sunset, Mr. Hyler, with 3 
large 24- oared boats, made an attack on the galley stationed 
at Prince's Bay, south side of Staten Island. There being 
little or no wind, he came up with a good deal of resolution, 
but Capt. Cashman gave him an 18-pounder, which went 
through the stern of one of the boats, and obliged Hyler to 
put ashore on the Island, where, after a smart combat, he 
was obliged to leave one of his boats and make the best of his 
way home with the other two." 

"John Althouse, with 12 men, was on board a guard-boat 
at anchor in Prince' s Bay, when two whale-boats were des- 
cried under South Amboy shore. It was calm. The cable 
was sprung and a 24-pounder brought to bear, which sent a 
shot through Hyler' s boat. His crew were taken in the other 
boat, (Dickey's,) and all made off for New Brunswick with 
Gen. Jacob S. Jackson, whom they had captured in South 
Bay, and kept prisoner till he was ransomed." 

The mantle of Capt. Hyler appears to ha^e fallen on other 
shoulders after his death. The New Jersey Gazette of 
November 13, 1782, says: "The brave Capt. Storer, com- 
missioned as a private boat-of-war, under the States, and who 
promises fair to be the genuine successor of the late valiant 
Cayt. Hyler, has given a recent instance of his valor and 
conduct in capturing one of the enemy's vessels, and in 
cutting out a vessel lying under the flag-staff and within half 
pistol shot of the battery of 14 guns, at the watering-place, 
Staten Island." 

Numerous instances of suffering are preserved in the tra- 



114 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

ditions of some of the old families of the Island. There was 
one man of local notoriety whose name is still remembered 
and mentioned by the descendants of those whose misfortune 
it was to suffer at his hands ; his name was Nathaniel Rob- 
bins ; he resided at what is now known as New Springville, 
but the house which he occupied was demolished many years 
ago. It stood near the corner of the roads leading "to Rich- 
mond and Port Richmond, fronting on the former, but sev- 
eral rods therefrom. He was an Englishman by birth, 
dissolute in his habits, and the terror not only of those 
who dwelt in his neighborhood, but of the whole county. 
His wife was a native of Staten Island, and a daughter of the 
widow Mary Merrill. The opinion which his wife's mother 
entertained of him, may be inferred from a clause in her will, 
which was dated January, 10th, 1789, and in which she be- 
queaths to her daughter Mary Robbins the sum of £40, " so 
as never to be in the power or at the command of Nathaniel 
Robbins, her present husband." His depredations were gen- 
erally committed under some disguise, which he supposed 
effectually concealed his identity, though he was often be- 
trayed by his voice or some circumstance, which rendered 
his identity a moral if not an absolute certainty. He had his 
associates, who were also well known, some of whose names 
might be mentioned but for the respectability of their descend- 
ants, but Robbins was regarded as the leader and soul of the 
gang. 

Those families residing near the Sound, or " the lines," as 
it was called, suffered more from marauders than those who 
dwelt in the interior, because the opportunities for escape 
were more convenient. As part of the local history of the 
Island, though authenticated chiefly by family traditions, 
but not therefore the less reliable, several instances are sub- 
joined. 

At or near Chelsea dwelt several families of the name of 
Prall, some of whose descendants are among the most re- 
spectable of our citizens at the present day. Among them 
were two brothers, Abraham and Peter, both prosperous farm- 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 115 

ers and men of substance. The house in which the former 
resided is still standing, though considerably modernized, on 
the Chelsea road, at no great distance from the Richmond 
Turnpike. The Chelsea road at that time was little better 
than a private lane leading to these residences from the main 
road, and passing through dense woods. On one occasion a 
man who was indebted to him called upon him and paid him 
a considerable sum in gold. The next evening the family 
were surprised by the approach of two men, who were evi- 
dently disguised ; their errand was at once suspected, and 
the old man had just time enough to take the money he had 
received out of the cupboard in which he had deposited it, 
and put it into his pockets. When the strangers entered, one 
of them presented a pistol at him, and said, "Prall, we know 
you have money, so deliver it up at once." He was very 
much alarmed, and his wife, perceiving his agitation, said, 
"Father, don't be alarmed, these men are our neighbors." 
She had detected the speaker by his voice, and knew him to 
be the same person who had paid the money the previous 
evening, and had seen it deposited in the cupboard. "Do you 
suppose," said the old man, "that I am so unwise as to 
keep any large sum of money in my house in times like these ? 
You are welcome to any money you may find in the house." 
They took him at his word, and the cupboard was the first 
place visited ; the rest of the house was also searched, but 
without success. They then turned to go, but directed the 
old man to go before them through the lane to the public 
road. The path through the woods was intensely dark, and 
he managed, as he went along, to drop his guineas, one by 
one, upon the ground, until by the time they had reached the 
highway he had none remaining in his pockets. Here another 
effort was made to compel him to tell them what he had done 
with it, but all the reply they could extort from him was, 
"the money I had in my house yesterday is not now in my 
possession." He was then searched, and he was made to sol- 
emnly swear that he would never divulge the circumstances 
of their visit, nor mention any names he might suspect. 



116 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

This oath, though by no means obligatory, he scrupulously 
kept. The next morning he retraced his steps of the previous 
night, and recovered every piece of his money. 

A younger member of one of these families, while on his 
way homeward, at a late hour, on horseback, when near the 
corner of the Port Richmond and Signs roads, New Spring- 
ville, was suddenly stopped by a man, who rushed out of his 
concealment in the bushes, seized his horse by the bridle, and 
ordered him to "deliver up." The horse was very spirited, 
and with a touch of the rider's spur suddenly sprang forward, 
throwing his assailant violently to the ground. Then, at the 
utmost of his speed, he made for home, springing over every 
fence or other obstacle, until he reached his stable door in 
safety. 

At another time, two of these young men, each one of 
whom owned a horse, put their horses together in a team, 
and took a sleigh ride to visit some of their relatives on the 
south side of the Island. When they returned, and before 
removing the harness from their beasts, they ran into the 
house for a moment to warm their hands, the weather being 
intensely cold. They were scarcely seated at the fire when 
one of the females of the family came running into the room, 
and informed them that somebody was taking their horses 
away. Rushing out together, they saw two men in their 
sleigh driving rapidly in the direction of the Sound. Pursuit 
was useless ; they stood still, and saw them crossing the 
Sound on the ice, until they reached the Jersey shore, and 
then disappeared in the country. They never saw their horses 
after. 

Mr. John Bodine* having received a considerable sum of 
money, suspected that the fact was known, and if so, that 
an attempt would be made to rob him ; he therefore buried it 
under the step-stone at his back door. His suspicions proved 
to be well founded ; his expected visitors made their appear- 
ance the following evening, and demanded all the money he 
had in the house. It was in vain that he protested there was 

* Vide App. N. (32.) 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 117 

no money in the house ; they insisted upon searching for it, 
but before doing so, bound him hand and foot, and then pro- 
ceeded with their villainous work. Nothing, however, was 
found. But they were not discouraged ; if the money was 
not in the house, he had concealed it, and must reveal the 
place. He concluded that if prevarication was ever justifi- 
able, it was under just such circumstances as those in which 
he was then placed, so he persisted in his denial of having 
any, or having concealed any. They threatened to shoot 
him ; he told them to shoot away, he could not give them 
what he had not. Perceiving that the fear of death did not 
intimidate him, they resorted to torture ; they heated a shovel, 
and proceeded to burn him on various parts of his body, but 
all in vain, he persisted in his denial, and they finally desisted, 
supposing it to be improbable if not impossible for any man 
to endure so much agony for any amount of money. 

It was not money only that satisfied the rapacity of these 
thieves ; household furniture, clothing, linen, anything that 
had value in their eyes, was ruthlessly carried away. One 
family had a vault constructed under the flooring of a cider- 
mill, in which beds, bedding and other articles, except some 
of the most common description, and in constant use, were 
concealed. Several years after the war a man who resided 
near " the lines," being on business in New Jersey, discov- 
ered in one house a mirror and several pictures belonging to 
himself, and of which his house had been robbed. 

We are indebted for the following incident to a man who 
died more than a quarter of a century ago, then in his 
ninetieth year. 

One afternoon, late in the fall, two British officers on 
horseback rode into his barn-yard, and having dismounted, 
entered the barn, and perceiving his two horses in their stalls, 
peremptorily ordered him to take them out and put theirs 
in. They then directed him to see that their beasts were well 
fed and otherwise cared for. From the barn they went into 
the house, and ordered the mistress to show them her best 
room ; this was done ; then they proceeded to the upper part 



118 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

of the house, and after having examined every apartment* 
selected one, and directed her to prepare two beds in that 
room, and to see to it that they were clean and comfortable 
in all respects, and that the best room was furnished with 
everything suitable for the accommodation of gentlemen. 
They then descended into the cellar, and examined the family 
stores there, and in the out-houses. Having ascertained the 
conveniences of the place, they ordered their supper to be 
prepared and served in the best room, informing her that 
they intended to reside there for some time, and expected to 
have their meals served regularly every day when they were 
at home. They brought no luggage with them except what 
was contained in two large valises strapped to their saddles. 

They remained in that house until Spring. Their clothes 
were thrown out every week to be washed, and by their order 
a supply of fire-wood was constantly ready at their door ; they 
did not always take the trouble to put the wood upon their 
own fire, frequently calling upon some one of the family to 
do it for them. One of them was a tory officer from Amboy, 
the other was an Englishman. Said the old man, "they 
lorded it over our house for that whole winter, and all we had 
to do was to obey them ; there was no use in complaining or 
remonstrating ; if we had done so, we should have been re- 
quited with a curse and a blow of their swords. I felt like 
poisoning them, and verily believe I should have done so, if 
it had not been for fear of the consequences. They left us as 
unceremoniously as they came, without even a ' thank you' 
or a 'goodbye.' " 

It is related of a young woman, the daughter of a farmer 
residing in the vicinity of the Fresh Kills, while engaged one 
morning in boiling soap, two soldiers entered the kitchen and 
ordered her to prepare breakfast for them ; she declined to do 
so, as she was otherwise engaged, and could not leave her 
employment to oblige anybody. This reply excited their 
wrath, and one of them approached her with an intention 
of striking her. Seizing a large dipper, she filled it with the 
boiling liquid and dashed it at him ; perceiving her intention, 



ANNALS OF STATEIST ISLAND. 119 

he wheeled suddenly around and thus saved his face, but re- 
ceived the whole charge upon the back of his head and neck. 
His companion, fearing a similar reception, escaped as quickly 
as possible, but the scalded ruffian, in endeavoring to remove 
the hot soap, took all the hair off with it, which never grew 
again, and left the back half of his head bald ever after. 

Another farmer in the same vicinity, while he and one of 
his sons were engaged in the barn one morning, were sudden- 
ly alarmed by a shriek and a cry for help from the house. 
Each seizing a hayfork, they ran in and found three soldiers 
in the house, one of whom was holding one of the young 
women of the family by the arm. They both rushed at him, 
first one stabbed him in the shoulder, and the other in the 
thigh, disabling him at once. With the same weapons they 
attacked the other two, driving them all before them out of 
the house, and pursuing them for some distance down the 
road ; they escaped, however, without further injury, by 
superior speed. 

The following romantic incident, though traditional, is well 
authenticated : 

Thirty years ago, perhaps more, there stood an old stone 
house nearly on the site now occupied by the residence of 
Capt. R. Christopher, in West New Brighton. For many 
years before it was demolished it was owned and occupied 
by the late Nathaniel Britton, Jr., but the name of the occu- 
pant during the early years of the revolution had entirely 
escaped the memory of the narrator ; he was, however, a 
prominent tory, and the father of a daughter said to have 
possessed more than an ordinary degree of personal attrac- 
tions ; before the commencement of the war she was affianced 
to a young man named Mersereau, who resided at Holland's 
Hook, or its vicinity. A young British lieutenant had seen 
and admired her, and, probably from the outset, had marked 
her for a victim. He had succeeded in becoming acquainted 
with her, and, to the gratification of her father, became very 
assiduous in his attentions. She, however, repulsed his ad- 
vances. After several months' efforts, finding he had utterly 



120 AJSTNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

failed in impressing her with a sense of the honor of his 
alliance, he resolved to possess himself of her person at all 
hazards. The same yonng tory who attempted to betray 
Col. Mersereau's presence with his family, and who, it would 
appear, was somewhat noted for his unscrupnlosity, and 
who, for a suitable reward, was ready to lend himself to the 
perpetration of any outrage which did not actually imperil 
his own precious life, was applied to by the lieutenant. The 
plot concocted between them will develop itself as the narra- 
tive progresses. Almost directly opposite the junction of 
the road from Garrison's Station, on the Staten Island Rail- 
road, with the old Richmond Road, (or the King' s Highway, 
as it was called in colonial times,) is a deep ravine, penetra- 
ting some distance into Toad Hill, at the farthest extremity 
of which is a spring of water, near which, before the war 
commenced, a solitary individual had built himself a rude 
hut or cabin, in which he dwelt for several years a veritable 
anchorite. When hostilities began, he disappeared, but the 
cabin still remained. The approach to it was by a foot-path 
through the dense forest which lined the hills on either side of 
the ravine. One evening the young tory called at the resi- 
dence of the young lady, and informed her that he had been 
sent to convey her to the residence of her aunt, near Rich- 
mond, who had been taken suddenly ill, and had requested 
her attendance. Suspecting no evil, and being much attached 
to her relative, she was soon ready to accompany him. 
Springing into the wagon which he had brought, she was 
rapidly driven away. When they reached the entrance to 
the ravine, two men rushed out of the bushes, seized the 
horse by the bridle, and ordered the occupants of the wagon 
to alight. One of them pretended to take possession of the 
driver, while the other led the young lady up the foot-path 
into the ravine, cautioning her that her safety depended upon 
her silence. So far the plot had been carried out success- 
fully, but there was an avenger nearer than they suspected ; 
they had taken but a few steps in the direction of the cabin, 
when several men rushed out of the bushes and seized the 



ANNALS OF STATEJST ISLAND. 121 

lieutenant, for it was he who had possession of the lady- 
One of them took her hand, assuring her that they were her 
protectors, and that she need be under no apprehensions. 
Though they were all disguised, she at once recognized 
Mersereau by his voice. Those who had possession of the 
lieutenant proceeded to tie his hands, informing him that 
they intended to do him no further harm than the infliction 
of a severe flogging ; and if he attempted to cry out, they 
would gag him. A bundle of supple rods was at hand, and 
two of them, one after the other, inflicted the chastisement 
which they had promised. Having punished him to their 
hearts' content, they released him, with the warning that if, 
after the expiration of a week, he was found upon the Island, 
they would capture him again and cut off his ears. The 
young lady was safely returned to her home by the same 
conveyance, but not the same driver, for he had, by some 
means, disappeared. The lieutenant also saved his ears by 
his absence before the week expired. How the villainous 
plot was discovered was never positively known, but it was 
shrewdly suspected that the young tory had played into the 
hands of both parties, and for a consideration had betrayed 
his military employer. The horse and wagon remained in 
the possession of Mersereau unclaimed for several weeks, 
but was finally stolen one night, and never heard of after. 

There is an instance of extraordinary self-possession and 
prompt decision related of a young man named Housman, 
which probably saved his life. He resided in the vicinity of 
the Four Corners, and one morning, after a slight fall of 
snow during the night, he went out with his gun in quest of 
rabbits. Though the people of the Island, during its oc- 
cupancy by the British, were prohibited from keeping fire- 
arms of any description in their houses, some few had suc- 
ceeded in concealing guns, which, from the associations con- 
nected with them, or from some other reasons, were valuable 
to them ; such was the gun carried by young Housman on 
this occasion. While tramping through the woods, a sudden 
turn in the path brought him in sight of two soldiers, who 



122 ANNALS OP STATEN ISLAND. 

were out, probably, on the same errand. They saw each 
other simultaneously, and each party stopped. The young 
hunter thought of the loss of his gun, and probably of his 
life also, but suddenly turning his back to the soldiers, he 
waved his hand as if beckoning to some other persons as he 
stepped back round the turn, and shouted out, " Hurry up, 
here are two Britishers ; three of you go round to the right, 
and three to the left, and the rest of you follow me ; hurry 
up, before they run away." What the " Britishers" had to 
fear we know not, but hearing these directions, and fearing 
there might be a small army about to surround them, turned 
and fled, throwing away their arms to facilitate their flight. 
What report they made when they reached their quarters is 
not known, but a detachment was sent out to capture the 
young man and his army. Their surprise and mortification 
must have been extreme, when at the turn in the path they 
could only find the tracks of a single individual in the snow. 

This same Housman, in after years, conceived the idea 
that there was great mineral wealth in the hills about the 
Four Corners, and with the aid of a negro commenced min- 
ing operations in the side of the hill, in what is called "Don- 
gan's wood," now the property of Cornelius Dubois, Esq. 
The excavation which he made in the solid rock in search of 
gold, may be seen at the present day. 

A farmer whose name has passed into oblivion, residing 
"in the Clove," was called from home late one day to visit 
a near relative in some other part of the Island, who had 
been taken suddenly ill, leaving his wife and only child, a 
lad of seventeen or thereabouts, alone at home. It was af- 
ter dark before the boy completed his work about the barn, 
but just as he was coming out he saw a soldier enter the 
house with a musket in his hand. Before he had time to 
reach the house, he heard his mother shrieking for help ; he 
rushed forward, and as he entered he saw the soldier holding 
his mother by the throat with his left hand, while his right 
was drawn back to strike her. When he entered, the soldier 
had placed his musket by the side of the door in the passage ; 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 123 

the son seized it, and at the imminent risk of shooting his 
mother, levelled it at the ruffian's head, and sent the ball 
crashing through his brain ; of course he was killed on the 
spot. But here was a dilemma ; if the shot had been heard, and 
should attract any person to the spot, an exposure must ne- 
cessarily follow, and the lad would have been executed, for no 
circumstances would have been admitted as a justification for 
killing a soldier. Fortunately, however, the noise had not 
been heard, or at least had attracted no attention. All that 
could now be done was to conceal the body until the return 
of the husband and father in the morning ; this was done by 
dragging it under the stairs, where it was not likely to be 
seen by any person but themselves. The next morning, 
when the farmer returned, and had learned what had taken 
place in his absence, he also became alarmed, but while his 
wife and son kept watch, he removed a part of his barn floor 
under which he dug a grave, and after dark the evening after, 
the body was thrown into it, and the musket also, and buried, 
and there they probably remain to this day. The family 
kept their own secret until after the close of the war, and 
the evacuation of the Island by the British. 

A man named Cole, residing in Sojithfield, was the pro- 
prietor of a remarkably fine gray horse. Several of the 
officers of the army had offered to purchase him, but he 
declined to part with him at any price. He had before sold 
a horse to an officer, who had promised to pay for him within 
two months, but two years had passed, and the debt was not 
yet discharged. At another time a Hessian officer, who had 
been quartered upon him for a short time, when he left, forci- 
bly took away another horse, and Cole had repeatedly vowed 
that no other officer should have another horse of his unless 
he stole him ; he would shoot him first, — the horse, not the 
officer. Early, one bright winter evening, he heard a commo- 
tion in his stable, and, always on the alert, he thrust two pis- 
tols in his pockets and hastened out. At the stable door he 
saw two soldiers attempting to put a halter upon the head of 
his favorite horse. " Hi, there," he cried, "what are you going 



124 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

to do with that horse V " G-oing to take him away," replied 

one of them ; " Colonel wants him, and sent us to get 

him." " Well," said Cole, "you just make up you minds 
that neither you nor the Colonel shall take that horse away 
without my consent." "Stand aside, you d — d rebel," said 
one them, as Cole attempted to take the horse from them, at 
the same time pointing a bayonet at him, "or I'll make a 
hole through your heart." Without further reply, he drew 
one of his pistols and shot the horse through the head ; 
"there, you infernal thieves," he exclaimed as he threw the 
pistol down, "now you may take him." For a moment the 
soldiers were amazed as they gazed upon the struggles of the 
dying animal, but soon recovering themselves, they prepared 
to rush upon him with their bayonets, when Cole, presenting 
the other pistol, exclaimed, "Come on, you thieves and 
robbers, with your bayonets, and I'll drop one of you at 
least." The soldiers considering discretion, in this instance, 
the better part of valor, turned and walked away, threatening 
him with the vengeance of the Colonel. "Gk> tell your 
master," said Cole, as he followed them to the gate, " that I'll 
serve him, or you, or any other thief who comes upon my 
premises at night to . steal my property, as I served that 
horse." 

The majority of the English, of all ranks, regarded the 
colonists as physically, intellectually and morally inferior to 
themselves ; in their social intercourse with them they made 
but little distinction between loyalists and rebels, and, in 
plundering, none whatever. But there were exceptions ; 
among the officers of the British army, were some who were 
gentlemen by nature and by culture, and a few were eminently 
pious men, who found no difficulty in reconciling their obliga- 
tions to their king with their duty to their Maker ; these two 
latter classes were ever ready to listen to the complaints of 
the oppressed, and, as far as laid in their power, to redress 
the wrongs of the injured. 

Of this class was Captain John Yoke,* of whom the fol- 

* Vide App. N. (33.) 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 125 

lowing anecdote has been preserved. He was billeted upon 
a farmer in the vicinity of Richmond for some two or three 
months, and, unlike many other officers, regularly paid for 
his board and lodging. A few days after he had removed 
his quarters, the farmer came to him and informed him that 
during the previous night his house had been entered and 
robbed of a sum of money, and that he suspected that it had 
been done by soldiers, because beneath the window through 
which the house had been entered, and which had been left 
open, he had found a button, by means of which, perhaps, 
the culprits might be detected. The Captain took the button 
and promised to give the matter his immediate attention. 
The button indicated the regiment as well as the company to 
which the loser of it belonged. During the parade that 
same day, he closely scrutinized the company indicated, and 
found a soldier with a button missing on the front of his 
coat. After parade he communicated his suspicions to the 
colonel of the regiment, and the soldier was sent for. When 
he had arrived, the colonel, using a little artifice, informed 
him that he suspected him of being implicated in a drunken 
brawl the night before at a tavern a mile or two distant. 
This the soldier denied, saying that he could prove he was 
nowhere near that tavern, or even in that direction, during 
the night previous. " Were you out last night?" inquired 
the colonel; "Well — yes," answered the soldier, "but not 
in that direction. " Where were you ?" "In various places, 
but not at that tavern." " By whom can you prove that you 
were not at that tavern ?" The name of another soldier was 
mentioned, and the colonel sent for him. When he arrived, 
he corroborated all that the first soldier had said, adding that 
they two had been together all the night. " Then," said the 
colonel, "you two are the burglars who entered the house of 

Mr. through a window last night, and robbed him of 

twenty guineas ; lay down the money upon this table, or 
you shall both be executed for burglary and robbery." 
The affrighted soldiers, taken by surprise, confessed their 
crime, and each placed ten guineas upon the table. What 



126 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

punishment was meted out to the culprits is not related, but 
Captain Yoke had the satisfaction of returning the money to 
the owner thereof in less than twenty-four hours after it had 
been stolen. 

On the 25th day of November, 1783, the British finally 
evacuated New York and Staten Island. Eight years before, 
they had entered the country with the expectation that, in 
less than as many months, they would overrun it from 
North to South, and trample out the rebellion. The people 
should be made to bow with abject submission before the in- 
vincible power of Great Britain, and humbly sue for the 
privilege of lying in the dust and having her foot placed 
upon their necks. The march of the army through the land, 
from its beginning to its end, was to be an uninterrupted 
triumph. But they now returned overcome and crestfallen : 
the rebellion which they came to conquer, had conquered 
them, and their overweening arrogance and pride had re- 
ceived a blow such as it had never received before, nor since. 
An eye-witness of their departure described the scene as in 
the highest degree impressive. Several days before the 25th 
had been occupied in conveying the troops, cannon, tents, 
etc., from the land to the vessels, both in New York and 
on Staten Island. When all was ready, they passed through 
the Narrows silently ; not a sound was heard save the ratling 
of the cordage. "We stood," he said, "on the heights at the 
Narrows, and looked down upon the decks of their ships as 
they passed ; we were very boisterous in our demonstrations 
of joy ; we shouted, we clapped our hands, we waved our 
hats, we sprang into the air, and some few, who had brought 
muskets with them, fired a feu-de-joie ; a few others, in the 
exuberance of their gladness, indulged in gestures, which 
though very expressive, were neither polite nor judicious. 
The British could not look upon the scene without making 
some demonstration of resentment. A large seventy-four, as 
she was passing, fired a shot which struck the bank a few feet 
beneath the spot upon which we were standing. If we had 
had a cannon, we would have returned it, but as we had none, 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 127 

we ran away as fast as we could. A few rods from us stood 
another group, composed of men and women, who gazed silent- 
ly, and some tearfully, upon the passing ships, for some of the 
females had lovers, and some husbands on board of them, 
who were leaving them behind, never, probably, to see them 
again. It was long after dark when the last ship passed 
through the Narrows." 

But they did not all go ; many of the soldiers, especially 
Hessians, who had no home attractions across the water, 
when they learned that peace had been declared, and that 
the army would shortly leave the country, deserted, and 
sought places of concealment, from which they emerged when 
the power to arrest them had departed. Many had formed 
attachments which they were unwilling to sunder. But 
many more were detained by admiration of the country, and 
a desire to make for themselves a new home in a new world. 
From some of these have descended men whose names are 
written in the country's history. 

In proportion to its population, Perth Amboy contained 
more tories than any other place within the limits of the 
State of New Jersey. Many of these enlisted in the regiment 
known as the Queen's Rangers, and in the several companies 
composing Col. Billop's regiment. We have been able to 
obtain the names of but two of the captains of these com- 
panies, viz. : Abraham Jones, a native Staten Islander, and 
David Alston, an Englishman or Scotchman by birth, but for 
years before the war a resident of New Jersey, in the vicinity 
of Kahway, and, after the war, of Staten Island.* Many of 
the British officers, in all parts of the country, remained after 
the cessation of hostilities, but many more of the rank and 
file ; this was so particularly on Staten Island, and many of 
the families now residing here are the descendants of these 
officers and soldiers. There were not, by any means, as many 
tories on the Island at the close, as at the beginning of the 
war. The injustice and cruelty of the British during the 

* Vide " Alston," App. L. 



128 ANNALS OF STATED ISLAND. 

whole term of their domination, and the repeated flagrant 
breaches of their promises in their numerous proclamations, 
as well as the inhumanity with which the American prisoners 
in their hands had been treated, had caused many to regret 
the step they had taken in publicly advocating the cause of 
the crown, and gradually they became converts to the cause 
of their native country, so that when the end came, there 
were few left who declined to take the oath of allegiance to 
the new government, and fewer still who were so infatuated 
with royalty as to abandon their property and the land of 
their nativity, to follow its fortunes. Of this latter class we 
t have been able to find but two families, the Billop and the 
Seaman. The property of these families was confiscated and 
sold by Isaac Stoutenburgh and Philip Van Courtland, Com- 
missioners of Forfeiture for the Southern district of New York. 
On the 16th day of July, 1784, they sold to Thomas McFar- 
ren, of New York, the Manor of Bentley, containing 850^- 
acres for £4,695 ($11,737.50) forfeited to the people of this 
State by the attainder of Christopher Billop. 

On the same day, the same Commissioners sold to the 
same individual, for £1,120.16 ($2,802), about 170 acres of 
land, in the town of Castleton, forfeited to the people of this 
State by the attainder of Benjamin Seaman. 

On the 30th day of April, 1785, the same Commisssioners 
sold to Cornelius Rosevelt, of New York, 200 acres of land, 
more or less, for £3,000 ($7,500), forfeited to the people of this 
State by the attainder of Benjamin Seaman. 

The remainder of the Billop estate, except about 100 acres, 
came into the possession of two brothers, Caleb and Samuel 

Ward. Caleb subsequently sold 100 acres to Codding- 

ton for $700 ; this eventually came into the possession of 
Garret Garrison, who married a daughter of Coddington. 
Subsequently, Isaac Butler came into possession of 200 acres 
of the original estate, and James Butler, Gilbert Totten, 
James Totten and Thomas Storer each 25 acres. 

The policy of the Government of the United States appears 
always to have been of a pacific and conciliatory character 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 129 

towards its enemies, after they have been subdued and ren- 
dered powerless for evil. All tories, as well as foreign foes, 
were permitted to take a position among the citizens of the 
country upon taking the oath of allegiance. All animosities 
were buried, and the descendants of a great number of these 
repentant royalists, now residing on the Island, are ignorant 
of the position their ancestors took in the great political ques- 
tions which agitated the country a century ago. 

At the close of the war, Staten Island, New York Island, 
and a part of Long Island, were peculiarly circumstanced ; 
throughout the country the several State governments, and 
the minor county and town governments under them, had been 
organized, and were in full operation, except in the counties 
mentioned ; these had been under the control of the British 
military authorities, and whatever civil government they 
had, continued to be under the English laws ; any attempt to 
organize a government which had the least tincture of repub- 
licanism, would not have been tolerated a moment ; therefore, 
when the English evacuated the country, the government 
which had directed the destinies of the country for a century, 
was, so far as these counties were concerned, annihilated, as it 
were, in a day, and the people, without any previous instruction 
or experience, were suddenly brought under the influences 
not only of another, but of a new code of laws. It would 
be interesting to trace the steps taken by the people of 
the Island to acclimate themselves, as it were, to the political 
atmosphere which they were thereafter to inhale, but here 
resources fail us ; there is nothing in the county archives to 
direct, or even to aid us. Except the records affecting the title 
to property, and the barren monetary records of the successive 
boards of supervisors, from which we have elsewhere culled 
all that is available for our purpose, there is nothing left ; 
all else has disappeared, especially the records of the courts 
held in the county. Of these there are none, from the begin- 
ning of the 18th century to 1843, or thereabouts, a period of 
nearly a century and a half. This is to be regretted, because 
there is no method by which the blank can be filled. It is in 



130 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

documents like these that are missing, that many items of lo- 
cal interest are to be found. The few events of a historical 
nature which have transpired in the limited area of our coun- 
ty since the formation of the government, and which are here 
recorded, have been drawn from the memories of individuals 
still living, and from various other sources. 

jSfote. — Since the above was written, the compiler has succeeded in 
discovering two old books containing the proceedings of the Courts of 
Common Pleas and General Sessions from 1710 to 1775, and a few 
cases after 1784. Between these dates no courts appear to have been 
held in the county, martial law prevailing during that time. The 
above books are of but "little value in a historical point of view, as 
they contain little else than entries of suits for debts in the Com- 
mon Pleas, and for assaults and batteries in the Sessions. 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 131 



CHAPTER XVI. 

• The Quarantine — Murders. 

As the commerce of the port of New York extended itself, 
and vessels from all parts of the world visited its harbor, and 
sometimes brought infectious diseases with them, it became 
an imperative necessity that the authorities should establish 
a quarantine for the protection of the people dwelling within 
its limits. Accordingly, the Colonial Legislature, in 1758, en- 
acted a law creating a quarantine establishment, and located 
it upon Bedloe's Island, where it remained thirty-eight years ; 
it was then removed to Nutten, or Governor's Island. In 
1799, three years after its removal, the yellow fever was 
brought to New York, and it was decided that the establish- 
ment was altogether too near the metropolis to be of any 
service in protecting the people, by preventing the spread of 
malignant diseases. Commissioners were then appointed by 
Act of Legislature to procure a site upon Staten Island. They 
selected a parcel of land containing thirty acres, belonging to 
St. Andrew's Church, beautifully located on the northeast 
shore of the Island. Strong opposition was made not only 
by the owners of the land, but by the people of the Island 
generally, to its location among them, but it was taken, not- 
withstanding, by what in law is termed "the right of eminent 
domain." Hospitals and other necessary buildings were 
erected, and during the first year of its existence on the Isl- 
and, twenty -five cases of yellow fever occurred among the 
people residing outside of its boundaries, all but one of 
which proved fatal. Almost every year thereafter contagious 
diseases, in some form, found victims among the people. In 
1848, the number of persons sick from infectious diseases 
outside of the quarantine, amounted to one hundred and 



132 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

eighty. In that year an earnest petition for relief was pre- 
sented to the Legislature by the people of the Island, sup- 
ported by powerful influences from New York and Brooklyn, 
and a committee was appointed by the Legislature to examine 
into the matter, and report at the following session. This 
committee at once proceeded to the performance of the duty 
assigned to them, and in 1849 ."unhesitatingly recommended 
the immediate removal of the quarantine." While the com- 
mittee were engaged in performing their duty, the yellow 
fever again broke out, and extended itself to various other 
places. In April an act was passed for the removal of the 
quarantine establishment from Staten Island to Sandy Hook. 
The measure had its opponents among the shipping merchants 
and others in New York, who were not idle ; the State of New 
Jersey also interposed its objections, and the persons ap- 
pointed by the Legislature of New York to carry out its 
intentions, took no action whatever, so that the removal act 
remained a dead letter upon the statute books. 

The fearful visitation of yellow fever in 1856, once more 
aroused the people of the Island, and another application for 
relief was made. In March, 1857, another act was passed for 
the removal of the quarantine from Staten Island, but the 
opposition of the Commissioners of Emigration, the Board 
of Underwriters of New York, and the shipping interests of 
that city, again thwarted the beneficent designs of the Legis- 
lature. The precautions adopted by the local authorities to 
protect the citizens and their families from infection, were 
opposed by the health officer, and every possible obstacle 
was thrown in the way of the local officers to obstruct them 
in the performance of their duties. At length patience 
ceased to be a virtue, and the Board of Health of the town 
of Castleton, within which the quarantine was situated, 
passed a resolution, declaring the institution to be an insuffer- 
able nuisance, and nailed upon the citizens to "abate it with- 
out delay." Those residing in the vicinity required but 
slight encouragement to take the matter into their own hands, 
and at once to effectually remove the establishment, which 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 133 

had legally been pronounced a nuisance. On the nights of 
the first and second of September, 1858, they forcibly entered 
the enclosure, and after carefully removing the patients from 
the several hospitals, set fire to, and burned down every 
building connected with the establishment. That some ex- 
cesses should be committed by an exasperated populace, 
was to be expected ; there was so much system, however, in 
their mode of operation, that it was evident everything had 
been previously arranged, and that the people were carrying 
out instructions previously received. During the continuance 
of this intense excitement, it was remarkable that not a single 
life was sacrificed, nor any one seriously injured. 

These summary proceedings of the people of Staten Island 
produced great excitement, not only in the city of New York, 
but throughout the State, and indeed throughout the country. 
They were termed in the public prints barbarians, savages, 
incarnate fiends, sepoys, and in fact no epithets were con- 
sidered too vile to be applied to them. But they were all 
borne with equanimity, sustained by the consciousness that 
sooner or later there would be a revolution in public opinion. 
After all the mischief had been done, the Governor of the 
State declared the Island to be in a state of revolt, and sent 
over several regiments of militia, who were for some time 
encamped upon the grounds immediately north of the quar- 
antine. 

A matter of a character so serious, could not, of course, 
be passed over in silence. Legal proceedings were at once 
instituted, and Messrs. John C. Thompson and Ray Tomp- 
kins, who were regarded as the instigators and ringleaders of 
the incendiaries, were arrested on a charge of arson, and 
arraigned before the County Judge, Hon. H. B. Metcalfe, for 
examination. His opinion, which was extensively copied and 
read, had great influence in changing public opinion. His 
closing remarks merit repetition and preservation. 

" Undoubtedly the city of New York is entitled to all the 
protection in the matter that the State can give, consistently 
with the health of others ; she has no right to more. Her 



134 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

great advantages are attended by correspondent inconven- 
iences ; her great public works, by great expenditures ; her 
great foreign commerce, by the infection it brings. But the 
Legislature can no more apportion upon the surrounding 
communities her dangers, than her expenses ; no more 
compel them to do her dying, than to pay her taxes ; neither 
can be done." 

Thus ended the charges brought against the prisoners ; no 
person was punished for any complicity in the matter, but 
the county, very unjustly in the opinion of many, was com- 
pelled to pay for the value of the property destroyed, both 
public and private ; nevertheless, the people consoled them- 
selves with the reflection, that even at that price, they had 
cheaply, as well as effectually, rid themselves of a grievous 
nuisance, which had not only depreciated the value of their 
property, and exposed themselves and their families to con- 
tagion in its worst forms, but had actually been the direct cause 
of the death of hundreds of their relatives and neighbors. 



Towards the close of October, 1815, the community was 
startled by a report that a murder had been committed in the 
town of Southfield. The circumstances of the case proved 
to be as follows : 

On the 27th of that month, Bornt Lake, residing on the 
Amboy,* a few rods south of the Black Horse Tavern, while 
returning from his father's house, on the same road to his 
own, was shot and killed on the public road in front of his 
own premises, by his next door neighbor, a man named 
Christian Smith. Immediately after the commission of the 
deed, Smith went to another neighbor, Mr. John Jacobson, 
and informed him of what he had done, and asked his advice 
whether to surrender himself, or attempt to escape. What 
advice his neighbor gave him is not known, but Smith did 
neither the one nor the other, but wandered about in the 
woods, where he was found later in the day, and taken to 
prison. He did not deny having committed the murder, but 

* Vide App. N. (35 ) 



AISHSTALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 135 

justified himself by the plea that Lake was committing a 
trespass upon his property ; that he had frequently done the 
same thing, and had been warned repeatedly what the con- 
sequence would be if he did not desist. He was indicted and 
brought to trial. The prosecution had an easy task, for the 
offence was not, and could not be denied ; it stood admitted, 
but the defence was justification. It was proved that a feud 
had for a long time existed between the parties, and that they 
did what they could to aggravate and annoy each other. 
Judge Spencer, who presided, charged strongly against the 
prisoner, for the law was against him. "If," he said, "the 
murdered man had trespassed upon the property of the 
prisoner, the law afforded ample redress, and he had no right 
to take the law into his own hand and redress his own 
wrongs." The jury, however, took a different view of the 
matter ; they acquitted the prisoner. The people were every- 
where surprised at the result, and perhaps none more so than 
the prisoner himself. The judge was indignant, and in dis- 
charging the prisoner from custody, indulged in some remarks 
which were bitterly severe. He said, in effect: "The jury 
have seen proper to find you not guilty ; how they have 
arrived at such a conclusion, in the face of the law and the 
facts, surpasses my comprehension, but I warn you that there 
is another tribunal before which you must appear hereafter 
to answer for your crime, and where you will not have the 
benefit of a Staten Island jury." It was said, probably more 
in jest than earnest, that the jury arrived at their verdict by 
the following argument of one of their number : " If we con- 
vict the prisoner, the judge will give him two or three months 
more of life, during which time the county will be obliged to 
feed him, and to keep his cell warm, which will cost a good 
sum of money ; if to this is added the cost of building the 
gallows, the sheriff' s fee for hanging him, the cost of burying 
him, the expenses will amount to a hundred or a hundred 
and fifty dollars, and all of which will have to be raised by 
taxation ; but if, on the other hand, we say "not guilty," 
every dollar of this amount will be saved," and therefore 



136 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

they said " Not Guilty." Others said that the jury suffered 
their sympathies for the prisoner to control their verdict, as 
it was evident that he had suffered much mental torture 
during his incarceration. 



On Christmas morning, 1848, the community was again 
startled by the rumor that a double murder had been com- 
mitted at Gfraniteville. A woman and her child, named 
Housman, had been found dead in an apartment of their 
dwelling house, evidently killed by violence. Suspicion soon 
was fixed upon a relative of the deceased persons, but who, 
after several trials, in one or more of which the jury failed to 
agree, was, upon a change of venue, finally acquitted. The 
matter still remains shrouded in mystery. > 



APPENDIXES. 



"A." 



CIVIL LIST, &c. 



140 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 



CIVIL OFFICERS, RICHMOND COUNTY. 

Members of the Provincial Congress. 

Adrian Bancker, 2d Prov. Cong., 1775 — '6. 
Richard Conner, 1st and 3d Prov. Cong., 1775 — '6. 
Aaron Cortelyou, " " " " " " 

John Journeay, " " " " " 

Rich'rd Lawrence, " 2d " 

Paul Micheau, " 3d " " " " 



Representatives in Congress. 
Daniel D. Tompkins, 9th Congress, 1805 — '6. 



Henry Crocheron, 


14th 


(C 


1815- 


-'17. 


James Guyon, Jr., 


16th 


it 


1819- 


-'21. 


Jacob Crocheron, 


21st 


ei 


1829- 


-'31. 


Samuel Barton, 


21th 


a 


1833- 


-'37. 


Joseph Egbert, 


27th 


it 


1841- 


-'43. 


Henry I. Seaman, 


29th 


tt 


1843- 


-'47. 


Obadiah Bowne, 


32d 


a 


1851- 


-'53. 


Henry G. Stebbins 


, 38th 


it 


Resigned. 


D wight Town send, 


38th 


u 


1863- 


-'65. 


Henry B. Metcalfe, 


44th 


cc 


1875- 


-'77. 



State Senators from Richmond County. 

Paul Micheau 1789— '90— '91— '92. 

Jacob Tysen 1828. 

Harman B. Cropsey 1832— '33— '34— '35. 

Minthorne Tompkins 1840 — '41. 

James E. Cooley 1852— '53. 

Robert Christie, Jr 1864— '65. 

Nicholas La Bau 1866— '67. 

Samuel H. Frost 1870—71. 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 



141 



Judges of the County Courts. 



1691 Ellis Duxbury. 

1710 Daniel Lake. 

1711 Joseph Billop. 

1712 Thomas Farinar. 
1739 Richard Merrill. 
1739 John Le Conte. 
1756 William Walton. 

(He was also a member of the Council 
from 1758 to 1768, when lie died.) 

1761 Joseph Bedell. 
1775 Benjamin Seaman. 



1786 


Paul Micheau. 


1797 


Gozen Ryerss. 


1802 


John J. Murray. 


1803 


John Garretson. 


1823 


Jacob Tysen. 


1840 


Henry B. Metcalfe. 


1841 


William Emerson. 


1844 


Albert Ward. 


1847 


Henry B. Metcalfe. 


1876 


Tompkins Westervelt, 



1808 
1812 
1836 
1840 



Presidential Electors from Richmond County. 

John Garretson. 1844 John C. Thompson. 

Joseph Perine. 1848 James M. Cross. 

Jacob Crocheron. 1856 Minthorne Tompkins. 

John T. Harrison. 1864 Obacliah Bowne. 



Members of the Colonial Assembly from Richmond County. 

John Dally 1691. 

Lambert Dorland 1691. 

Ellis Duxbury 1691— '95— "98. 

Thomas Morgan 1692— '98, 1702. 

J. T. Van Pelt 1692— '94— '98. 

John Shadwell 1693— '95. 

Thomas Stilwell 1693— '98. 

John Tunison 1694— '95— '98. 

John Woglom 1698— '99. 

Garret Veghte 1699, 1702. 

John Stilwell 1702— '25. 

Abraham Lakerman 1702 — '26. 

Richard Merrill 1725— '37. 

John Le Count 1726— '56. 

Adam Mott 1737— '39. 

Richard Stilwell 1739— '48. 

Paul Michean 1748— '51. App. N. (36.) 

Wm. T. Walton 1751—61. 

Benjamin Seaman 1756 — '75. 

Henry Holland 1761— '69. 

Christopher Billop 1769—75. 



142 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

Members of Assembly for Richmond County. 

1st Session.— Abraham Jones.... 1777— '78. App. N. (37.) 

" Joshua Mersereau. " 

2d " No name recorded. 1778 — '79. 

3d " Joshua Mersereau. 17 79 — '80. 

4th " Joshua Mersereau. 1780— '81. 

5th " Joshua Mersereau . 1781— '82. 

6th " Joshua Mersereau. 1782— '83. 

7th " Adrian Bancker. . .1784. 

" Johannes Van Wagenen, 1784. 

8th " Joshua Mersereau. 1784 — '85. 

" Cornelius Corsen ... 

9th " Joshua Mersereau. 1786. 

" John Dongan 

10th " John C. Dongan... 1787 

" Thomas Frost " 

11th " John C. Dongan...] 788. 

Peter Winant " 

12th " Abraham Bancker.. 1788— '89. 

" John C. Dongan ... " 

13th " Abraham Bancker.. 1789— '90. 

" Peter Winant 

14th " Gozen Ryerss 1791. 

" Peter Winant " 

15th " Gozen Ryerss 1792. 

16th " Gozen Ryerss 1793. 

17th " Gozen Ryerss 1794. 

18th " Lewis Ryerss 1795. 

19th " Lewis Ryerss 1796. 

20th " Lewis Ryerss 1797. 

21st " Paul J. Micheau . . . 1798. 

22d " Paul J. Micheau. ..1799. 

23d " John P. Ryerss. . . , 1800. 

24th " Paul J. Micheau 1800—01. 

25th " Paul J. Micheau 1802. 

26th " Paul J. Micheau . . . 1803. 

27th " John Housman 1804. 

28th " John Dunn 1804— '05. 

29th " John Dunn 1806. 

30th " David Mersereau. ..1807. 

31st " David Mersereau. ..1808. 





ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND 


32d Session — David Mersereau. . 


.1808—09. 


33d 


" Richard Conner . . . 


.1810. 


34th 




1811. 


35th 




1812. 


36th 


' James Guyon, Junr 


. 1812—13. 


37th 


' James Guyon, Junr 


.1814. 


38th 




1814—15. 


39th ' 


' Richard Corsen , . . 


.1816. 


40th 


' Richard C. Corsen . 


.1816—17. 


41st 


* Richard C. Corsen . 


.1818. 


42d 


' Harmanus Guyon. . 


. 1819. 


43d 


' Harmanus Guyon. . 


. 1820. 


44th 




1820—21. 


45th 


' Samuel Barton .... 


. 1822. 


46th ' 


' Isaac R. Housman . 


.1823. 


47th 




1824. 


48th < 


' Harmanus Garrison.1825. 


49th 


' No Election 


1826, 


50th < 


c Abraham Cole. ... 


.1827. 


51st 


' Abraham Cole .... 


1828. 


52d 


c John Vanderbilt. . 


.1829. 


53d 


' John T. Harrison . 


. 1830. 


54th < 


' John T. Harrison . 


.1831. 


55th ' 


' Jacob Mersereau. . 


. 1832. 


56th ' 


' Jacob Mersereau. . 


.1833. 


57th ( 


' Paul Mersereau . . . 


1834. 


58th ' 


' Lawrence Hillyer . 


.1835. 


59th < 


' John Garrison, Jun 


. 1836. 


60th ' 


' Lawrence Hillyer.. 


. 1837. 


61st 




1838. 


62d 




. 1839. 


63d 


c Bornt P. Winaat. . 


.1840. 


64th ' 




1841. 


65th ' 




1842. 


66th ' 


' Henry Cole 


1843. 


67th ' 


' William Nickles . . . 


.1844. 


68th ' 


Peter Mersereau . . . 


. 1845. 


69th ' 


' George H. Cole . . . 


. 1846. 


70th ' 


' George H. Cole . . . 


.1847. 


71st ' 


' Ephraim J. Totten. 


. 1848. 


72d 


' Gabriel P. Disosway 1849. 


73d 


' Benjamin P. Prall. 


.1850. 



143 



144 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

74th Session. —William H. Anthon . 1851. 

75th " L'wr'nceH.Cortelyoul852. 

76th " Henry De Hart 1853. 

77th " Nicholas Crocheron . 1854. 

78th " John F. Raymond.. 1855. 

79th " William J. Shea .... 1856. 

80th " Joshua Mersereau.. 1857. 

81st " Eben W. Hubbard. . 1858. 

82d " Robert Christie, Jun.1859. 

83d " Theo. C. Vermilye . . 1860. 

84th " N. Dane Ellingwood 1861. 

85th " Smith Ely 1862. 

86th " Theodore Frean 1863. 

87th " William H. Rutan.. 1864. 

88th " James Ridgway . . 1865. 

89th " Thomas Child 1866. 

90th " Nathaniel J. Wyeth.1867. 

91st " John Decker. ...... 1868. 

92d " John Decker 1869. 

93d " John Decker 1870. 

94th " John Decker* 1871. 

95th " David W. Judd. . . .1872. 

96th " John B. Hillyer .. 1873. 

97th " Stephen D. Stephens, Jr 1874. 

98th " " " 1875. 

99th " Kneeland Townsendl876. 

100th " Samuel R. Brick 1877. 

* The Certificate was given to John Decker, bat the seat was subsequently 
awarded to Willet N. Hawkins. 



Members of the State Constitutional Conventions from 
Riolimond County. 

Convention of 1788, Abraham Bancker, Gozen Ryerss. 
" 1801, Joseph Periue. 

1821, Daniel D. Tompkins. 
1845, John T. Harrison. 
" 1868, George Wm. Curtis. 






ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 145 

School Superintendents, &c. , of Richmond County. 

Harman B. Cropsey, County Superintendent, appointed 1843. 

David A. Edgar, County Commissioner, elected. 

Henry M. Boehm, " 

Isaac Lea, 

James Brownlee, " " " 





Clerics of Richmond County. 


1682 


Francis Williamson, 


1810 


John V. D. Jacobsen, 


1684 


Samuel Winder, 


1811 


Joseph Perine, 


1689 


Jacob Corbet, 


1815 


Jonathan Lewis, 


1691 


Thomas Carhart, 


1828 


Walter Betts, 


1698 


Thomas Coen, 


1843 


Joshua Mersereau, Jr., 


1706 


William Tillyer, 


1852 


Israel C. Denyse, 


1708 


Alexander Stuart, 


1855 


James Cubberly, 


1728 


Adam Mott, 


1858 


Israel C. Denyse, 


1738 


Daniel Stilwell, 


1861 


Abraham V. Conner, 


1739 


Daniel Corsen, 


1864 


Michael P. O'Brien— Appl (39.) 


1761 


Paul Micheau, 




Joseph Egbert, 


1781 


Abraham Bancker, 


1869 


John H. Van Clief, Jr., 


1784 


John Mersereau, 


1873 


David H. Cortelyou, 


1798 


Joseph Perine — App, 
Surrogate 


N. (38.)1876 


Abraham V. Conner. 




s of Richmond County. 


Under Colonial Government. 1813 


Cornelius Bedell, 


1733 


Walter Dongan, 


1815 


Tunis Egbert, 


1759 


Benjamin Seaman. 


1820 


Richard Conner, 


Under Federal Government. 1820 


John Garrison, 


1787 


Adrian Bancker, 


1821 


Tunis Egbert, 


1792 


Abraham Bancker, 


1830 


Richard Crocheron, 


1809 


John Housman, 


1843 


Lewis R. Marsh, 


1810 


Cornelius Bedell, 


1847 


Henry B. Metcalfe- -App.N.(40) 


1811 


Jonathan Lewis, 

Sheriffs 


1876 


Tompkins Westervelt. 




of Richmond County. 


1683 


John Palmer, 


1810 


Daniel Guyon, 


1684 


Thomas Lovelace, 


1811 


Jacob Crocheron, 


1685 


Thomas Stilwell, 


1813 


Jacob Hillyer, 



146 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 



1689 

1691 

1692 

1698 

1699 

1700 

1701 

1702 

1709 

1722 

1730 

1736 

1739 

1751 

1775 

1784 

1788 

1792 

1796 

1799 

1802 

1806 



1818 
1826 
1833 
1839 
1840 
1841 
1849 



Eli Crossen, 
Thomas Stilwell, 
John Stilwell, 
John De Pue, 
Jacob Coulsen, 
Christian Corsen, 
John De Pue, 
Lambert Garrison, 
William Tillyer, 
Benjamin Bill, 
Charles Garrison, 
Paul Micheau, 
Nicholas Larzalere, 
John Hillyer, 
Thomas Frost, 
Abraham Bancker, 
Lewis Ryerss, 
Benjamin Parker, 
Isaac Cubberly, 
John Hillyer, 
Jacob Crocheron, 
Jonathan Lewis, 



1815 
1819 
1821 

1825 

1828 

1831 

1834 

1837 

1840 

1843 

1846 

1849 

1852 

1855 

1858 

1861 

1864 

1867 

1870 

1873 

1876 



Henry Perine, 
John Hillyer, 
Jacob Crocheron, 
Walter Betts, 
Harmon B. Cropsey, 
Lawrence Hillyer, 
Israel Oakley, 
Andrew B. Decker, 
Jacob Simonson, 
Israel O. Dissosway, 
Jacob G. Guyon, 
Israel O. Dissosway, 
Abraham Ellis, 
Abraham Lockman, 
Isaac M. Marsh, 
Moses Alston, 
Abraham Winant, 
Jacob G. Winant, 
Moses Alston, 
William C. Denyse, 
Benjamin Brown. 



District Attorneys of Richmond County 

(This was made a 
George Metcalfe, 



Henry B. Metcalfe, 
Thorn S. Kingsland, 
George Catlin, 
Roderick N. Morrison, 
Lot C. Clark, 
George Catlin, 



County office in 1818.) 

1850 George White, 

1853 Alfred DeGroot, 

1850 Abraham W. Winant, 

1865 John H. Hedley, 

1872 Sidney F. Rawson, 

1875 John Croak. 



Regents of the University from Richmond County. 

Abraham Bancker, John C. Dongan, first board, 1784; Harmanus 
Garrison, second board, 1784 ; since which time the county was not 
represented in the board until April 12th, 1864, when George Wm. Cur- 
tis was appointed, and still continues in office (1876). 






ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 



147 



Supervisors of the several Towns in Richmond County since 
the beginning of the year 1766 — alphabetically arranged. 



Gastleton. 



Barnes, George 1792— '93. 
Barrett, Nathan 1837—38. 
Burbanck, Abraham 1794 — '98. 
Cary, Kichard S. 1804. 
Christopher, Bichard 1846, 1849, 

1857,-'8-'9, 1868-'9, 1874-'5-'6. 
Clute, John J. 1860. 
Conner, Bichard 1766 to-'84, 1786 

to-'92. 
Crab.tree, James H. 1865. 
Crocheron, Abraham 1832 — '3. 
Davis, George B. 1853. 
De Groot, Jacob 1839. 
Dongan, John C. 1785. 
Ely, Smith 1861-'2. 
Esterbrook, Joseph 1866. 
Gardiner, David L 1864. 
Garrison, John 1803. 



Garrison, John Jr. 1834 — '5 — '6. 
Hazard, Bobert M. 1847—8. 
Heal, Nathan M. 1867. 
Herpeck, Charles A. 1877. 
Housman, John 1799 to 1802, 1810. 
Housman, Isaac B. 1822 to — '31. 
Laforge, Peter D. 1841—2. 
Martling, Joseph B. H 1850 to— '52. 
Martino, Gabriel 1855. 
Mersereau, Joshua 1854. 
Minturn, Bobert B. 1871. 
Pell, D. Archie 1870. 
Thompson, John C. 1840. 
Tysen, Jacob 1811 to— '21. 
Tysen, John Jr. 1805 to— '09. 
Vermeule, John D. 1872— '3. 
Vreeland, Eder. 1844— '5. 
Ward, Albert 1843. 



Norihfield. 



Bedell, Cornelius 3 790, 1794. 
Burger, James G. 1855. 
Child, Thomas 1863. 
Corsen, Cornelius 1779 to — '84. 
Crocheron, Henry 1800 to-'04, 

1808 to— '14. 
Crocheron, Nicholas 1805 to-'7, 

1825 to— '30, 1846—7. 
Crocheron, Bichard 1816 to— '23. 
Denyse, Israel C. 1866— '7. 
Hillyer, John 1767. 
Hillyer, John B. 1872. 
Hillyer, John Jr. 1772-3. 
Hillyer, Lawrence 1851, 1856. 
Laforge, Peter C. 1862. 
Lake, Daniel 1795 to— '97. 
Latourette, Henry 1767. 
Latourette, Bichard 1876 — '77. 



Martin, Oliver B, 1848. 
Mersereau, David 1815. 
Mersereau, Jacob 1792— '3, 1799. 
Mersereau, John 1788. 
Mersereau, Peter 1841 to — '44. 
Moore, Bichard C. 1854. 
Perine, James 1831— '32. 
Post, Garret G. 1850, 1857 to— '61. 
Prall, William 1824. 
Byerss, Gozen 1785 to — '87. 
Simonson, Bornt 1774 to — '78. 
Simonson, Garret 1873 to — '76. 
Simonson, Jacob 1833 to-'40, 1849. 
Tysen, John 1789, 1791, 1798. 
Wright, Garret P. 1852. 
Van Clief, John H. 1868 to— '71. 
Van Name, Charles 1853 v 1864. 
Van Name, Michael 1845. 



148 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 



Southfield. 



Barnes, George 1789, 1800. 
Barton, Edward P. 1869. 
Barton, Samuel 1852, 1857. 
Brady, Philip 1870. 
Britton, Alexander H. 1844. 
Clark, Ephraim 1866—67. 
Cocroft, James 1865. 
Coddington, Samuel 1857, 1841 to 

—'43. 
Cole, George H. 1845. 
Corry, William 1876, 1877. 
Cortelyou, Peter 1789— '98. 
Egbert, Joseph 1855— '56. 
Fountain, Anthony 1767, '69, '84. 
Garrison, John C. 1849, 1858 to 

—'60. 



Greenfield, George J. 1872 to 

Guyon, Harmanus 1816 to — '20 

1822 to— '33. 
Guyon, James 1782— '3, 1785—6. 
Guyon, James 1838 to— '40, 1847— 

'8, 1850— '51. 
Hall, Farnham 1846. 
Jacobson, Christian 1772 to — '81. 
Jaeobson, John V. D. 1802 to— 15. 
Johnson, Anthony 1834 to — '36. 
Keeley, Dennis 1861 to— '64, 1871. 
Ketteltas, J. S. 1868. 
Mersereau, Jacob W. 1853 — '4. 
Perine, Henry 1821. 
Poillon, John 1766, 1768. 
Tysen, John 1795 to— '98. 



Bancker, Adrian 1772—73. 
Cole, Cornelius 1788, 1794. 
Cole, Gilbert A. 1857, 1862. 
Cropsey, Jacob B. 1844 — '45. 
Depuy, Nicholas 1766 to— '69. 
Eddy, Andrew 1846. 
Ellis, George W. 1870—71. 
Frost, Samuel H. 1851 to— '56, 
Guyon, Jacob M. 1876. 
Jackson, Bichard 1828. 
Larzelere, Benjamin 1789, 1795 

1801. 
Latourette, David 1835— '36. 
Mersereau, Daniel 1829— '33. 



Westfield. 

Micheau, Paul 1790-'93. 
Oakley, Israel 1840. 
Oakley, Jesse 1850. 
Perioe, Henry 1774— '83. 
Butan, "William H. 1858— '61. 
Seguine, Henry H. 1874, 1877. 
Seguine, Joseph 1826, 1837— '39. 
Totten, Ephraim J. 1847, 1849. 
Totten, Gilbert 1802— '25, 1827. 
Totten, John, 1784, 1809-'25, 1827. 
to Winant, Peter 1785— '87. 

Winant, Bornt P. 1834,'41-'43,1848. 
Wood, Abraham H. 1864— '65. 
Wood, Abraham J. '66-'69, '72-'73. 



Middletown. 



Armstrong, John E. 1873. 
Bechtel, John L864. 
Bradley, Alvin C. 1872. 
Brick, Samuel K. 1868—71. 
Davis, George B. 1861. 
Frean, Theodore 1866, 1877. 



Frost, Henry 1876. 
Hornby, Alexander 1862. 
Lord, D. Porter 1865, 1867. 
White, Frederick 1874. 
Wood, Jacob B. 1860 



ANJSTALS OF STATEIST ISLAND. 



149 



N. B, — There is no record of Supervisors' names earlier than 1766 , 
except in a few instances noticed below. The names of the Supervisors 
of 1770 and 1771 are not recorded. It is possible that the names of 
some of the earliest Supervisors are arranged under the wrong town, 
as in no case are the names of the towns and Supervisors connected. 



1766. 

Aaron Prall, North. 
Tunis Egbert, "West. 
Stoffel Van Sant, South. 
Tunis Egbert, West. 
Aaron Prall, North. 
Alex'r Stuart, South. 
Jacob Corsen, North. 
Tunis Egbert, West. 





Supervisors 


prior to 


1699. 


William Tiljeu, North. 


1705. 




Anthony Tyson, West. 






Abm. Lakeman, South. 




1703. 


Eichard Merrill, North. 
Stoffel Garrison, South. 


1706. 




Anthony Tysen, West. 


1709. 


1704. 


Merrill, North. 

Tunis Egbert, West. 





County Taxes from the year 1766. 



1766 
1767 
1768 
1769 
1770 
1771 
1772 
1773 
1774 
1775 



$485 06J 
1,382 50 
408 23 
282 121 
203 74 
187 51 
242 05 
357 07| 
142 92 
261 59 



There are no taxes recorded except 
Excise during the war, or until after the 
organization of the Federal Government. 



1784 
1785 
1786 
1787 
1788 



. . . . $1,037 50 a 

637 50 

625 00 b 

562 50 ° 

375 00 d 

a By Act of Legislature, £5000 additional was levied this year. 

b £1600 additional levied by law. 

c £3250 State tax additional. 

d $1124.25 State tax this and the following year. 



1823 

1824 

1825 

1826 

1827 

1828 

1829 

1830 

1831 

1832 

1833 

1834 Incomplete on 

1835 

1836 Incomplete. 

1837 

1838 

1839 

1840 

1841 



$3,615 84 
3,518 16 
2,928 31 
3,169 46 
3,552 72 
4,255 04 
5,442 17 

4,505 53| 
4,424 61 
3,909 09 
4,409 77 
the record. 
3,867 51 

5,942 55 
8,659 55 
8,458 93 
9,211 51 
7,268 53 



150 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 



1789 
1790 
1791 
1792 
1793 
1794 
1795 
1796 
1797 
1798 
1799 
1800 
1801 
1802 
1803 
1804 
1805 
1806 
1807 
1808 
1809 
1810 
1811 
1812 
1813 
1814 
1815 
1816 
1817 
1818 
1819 
1820 
1821 
1822 



750 00 

875 00 

700 00 

750 00 

1,000 00 

812 50 

875 50' 

1,187 09' 

1,347 58 

811 61 

874 96 



No tax recorded. 



2,488 01 
1,100 00 
1,216 51 
1,234 71 
1,123 52 
1,005 63 
625 88 
676 55 
965 27 
606 66 
1,356 99 
1,004 67 
1,517 88 
2,169 13 
3,259 40 
4,424 41 
4,305 69 
3,383 901 
3,746 89 
3,412 31 
3,305 42 
2,943 501 



1842 

1843 

1844 

1845 

1846 

1847 

1848 

1849 Not recorded. 

1850 

1851 

1852 

1853 

1854 

1855 

1856... 

1857 Not recorded. 

1858 

1859 , 

1860 

1861 

1862 

1863 

1864 

1865 

1866 

1867 

1868 

1869 

1870 

1871 

1872 

1873 

1874 

1875 , 



9,251 00 
8,890 13 
12,727 21 
10,379 81 
13,453 77 
13,536 84 
15,174 85 

17,202 65 
20,244 16 
22,224 54 
25,439 87 
32 : 275 26 
38,925 54 
37,656 47 

47,001 84 

55,920 58 

53,789 94 

64,374 61 

107,126 51 

129,275 03 

218,338 86 

190,251 70 

295,548 98 

272,778 79 

248,982 68 

290,624 74 

332,666 06 

224,787 38 

304,295 17 

274,807 89 

274,997 34 



3.37^ additional for school tax. 

b Including school tax. 

N. B. — The books were kept until 179- in Colonial currency. There was great 
irregularity in making up the amount of tax some years. Sometimes the Dog 
tax was levied with the other taxes, sometimes by itself, sometimes it was paid 
out of the surplus Excise money when there was any. The State, school and 
poor tax were sometimes collected in the same way. 



"B." 

EXTRACTS 
From Old Records, &c. 



152 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 



EXTEACTS FEOM THE OLD COUNTY EECOEDS, WITHOUT 
SPECIAL EEGAED TO DATES, verbatim et literatim. 

I under writen Ponies Marlet out of my own free will have 
giuen to my brother Abraham Marlett the half of my Lott of 
Land that I Am to haue out of the paten (patent) with my 
father which I gaue out of my free will as a frend sheep 
(friendship) and I Ingeage to giue A Transport when my 
Brother Abraham Shall Requier it this A sined (assigned) 
out of good will on Staten Island on this 17th day of March, 
1678 as wetnes our hands 

Poules Richards the mark P. M of 

Peter ferche Pouls Marlet 

This is a Trew Record out of the Rigonell (original) 
By order on this 9th day Jenewery 1682 
order of Abraham Marlett o Badiah Hulmes Clk 



Upon the Ingagment of Capt. John Palmer for the fidelity 
of ffrances willjamson to a fisheat (officiate) the ofes of A 
Clarke for the Court the said Court By Joynt Consent have 
Mead choys of the A foorsaid ftrancis willjamson this 12 
day of June 1682 

By reference to our civil list, it will be seen that this indi- 
vidual was the first county clerk. 



Thes Ar In his Maiests (Majesty's) Neam to will and Requi- 
ar you At sight hearof to giue nootes to the A Boue (above) 
meintioned parsons to Meet to gether In sum Conueient plas 
and then and ther to Act A Cording to ther Instruction and 
for soe Doeing this shall Be your soefishent warrant giuen 
under My hand on this 26 day of Jenewery 1681 

Richaed Stillwell Justes 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 153 

Oct 10. 1698 To Tho Stillwell for a Wolve £0. 15. 

To Cornells Tysen for a wolves head £1. 00. 

Richard Merrill Plf ) 

> in A Action of the Caues 
Lambert dorlont Deft ) 

The Plf not A pearing to Ancer to his Action the Court or- 

dereth that the Plf shall pay the Cost of sewt (suit) 



Thes Are to giue notes to whome It may concarn that 
Richard Fathfall (?) and Elisabeth Larans (Lawrence) hath 
bin Publeshed A Cording to Law 

by Danill Stillwell 
on this 15th day of Oversear 

Jenewery 1682 

The A Boue (above) Mentioned Parsons Ar Mared (married) 
By Me on the 25th day of Jenewery 1682 

Richard Stillwell Justes 
By order obadiah Hulmes Clarck 



Jacob Jeyoung (Guyon) Ptf \ In A Action of the Caus 
Isaac See (?) Deft j At A Court held on Staten 

Island By the Constable and oversears of the seam on this 

present Munday Being the 7 day of febraery 1680 wharas the 

caus depending Between the Ptf and deft hath Bin heard the 

Court ordereth deft to Cleer his flax forthwith and his Corn 

out of the Barn within ten days from the deat hearof and to 

clear up his other A Counts at the next Co art. 

A A Court held on Staton Island By the Constabl and 

oversears of the Seam on this presont Munday Being the 5 

day of September 1680 Sarah whittman Ptf William Britton 

Deft, in A Action of the Case to the valew of l \ a x 8 a |j The Caus 

depending Betwixt the Ptf and Deft hath Bin heard and for 

want of farther proof the Caus is Referred till the next Court. 

Sarah Whittman Ptf 
William Briten Deft 
At A Court held on Staton Island by the Constabll and 



154 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

oversears of the seam on this presont Munday Being the 3 
day of October 1680 the Court ordereth that the Deft; shall seat 
(set) up and geett (get ?) forty panell of soefisiont (sufficient) 
fence for the yous (use) of Sarah whitman at or Be foor the 
first of november next in sewing (ensuing) with Cost of sewt. 

Capt Thomas Young Ptf Dec 5 1681 

Edmond Arow Smith Deft The deft Most humbly declareth 
— the Ptf hath detained four small peeses (pieces) ov hed Band 
— on duble Rigan (rigging) for wich I paid in Ingon Com — half 
a Scepll of pees as not paid for and wheras he hath Charged 
me — for six and twenty pound of Buter there was no more 
than 26 p pot and all the waight of the pot was 8 pound. By 
this and other Consideration doth Caus me to detain the debt. 

ISiP^The "Buter" was charged at six pence per pound. 

March 7th 1736-7 John Bodine and Hester his wife sold to 
Joseph Bedle a parcel of land on the North side of Fresh 
Kills — "Being on the Poynt of Karles Neck, being irregular 
pees of land — " Containing Eighty Acres as likewise his 
" proporshanable quantity of Meadow Ground." Considera- 
tion £300 ($750.) 

signed Jean Bodin 

her 

Hester X Bid en 

mark 



1769 Rojer Barnes Esquire and Joseph Ralph Esq. for the 
tryel of Joshua Marcheroe Esq. and Mr. Dromods Negroes 
£2.17. 

Joshua Marchero Esq. and Joseph Ralph and Richard 
Conner Esquires for the tryel of Mr Roper Dossons wench 
£3.00. 

Received of Mr. Thomas Billop fourteen hundred and forty 
five Bushels of Wheate In full for his Magistis Quit rent Due 
from the Manor of Bentley to the 25th of March Last. 
Witness my hand April 30th 1736 

Arch d Kennedy Rec. General 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 155 

January 6. 1770 then the Supervisars Examined into the 
account of the arms that was bought for the county and 
Benjamin Semans Esq Brought in the account of What quan- 
tity Was in his hands, thair Was in his hands £36— Delivered 
to Captain Wright 12 guns and 12 hangers and guns With 
Bagnits to Mr. Broons and one Ghin With a bagnit to 
Cornoral Dongan. 



John Bedeel Esq. to cost for to transport Hannah fich — 
and to cash paid to Lewes Dubois for the gale, (jail) — to 
sundrey Workmanship and nales for the gale and to a false 
york Bill taken of the collecttors. 



March 30th Annoq Domini 1774 

Gilbert Tottons ear mark for his cattle & sheep &c is a slit 
in the end of both ears viz. from the tip end down towards 
the head & a half moon on the upper part of the right ear. 
Entered the day and year above written by 

Paul Micheau Clk. 



1775 To John Bedeel Esq for Extrodany troble £1. 12. 
" John Hillyer Jun for a quoire of Paper 0. 1.6 

" Jonathan Lewis Crowner for inquist 2. 8. 



March 1776 To Thomas Frost for four double spring Pad 
locks for the goil (jail) two Pounds. 

1780 to three visits to Cornelius Slaght and Dress- 
ing his wounds £1. 9. 

1781 May 2 to a visit to Mr Van Pelt at Mr John 
Deckers. 0. 5. 

Bleeding him £0. 2. 6, a vomit £0. 2. 6 an anod. 
Bolus £0. 4. Total 4. 3. 

for which he received a voucher March 15th 1790. 



In 1778 there was paid to 
' 'Christian Jacobson for 3 years services as supervisor £4. 4. 
Henry Perine " " " 3.19. 



156 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

Barnt Simonson for 3 years services as supervisor 2. 2. 
Eichard Conner " " " 4. 4. 

The whole amounted to £14. 9. 6 or $36.18|. We quote 
this for the benefit of the same officers of the present day. 



"Sept. 28th 1779 Richmond County. Received of John 
Bedel Esq. the sum of Fifty one Pound six shill for the use 
of the Grun boat as appears by the following receipt 
Richmond County Sept the 28. 1779 

Received of Mess r Richard Conner, Christian Jacobson 
Henry Perine, Cornells Corson supervissors for said County 
the sum of Eighty four Pound being in full for my selfe & 
Eight men belonging to the gun boat commenceing the four- 
teent of august last and continued for one month 

by me Jas. Stewart Capt" 



There are allusions to the gun -boat in several places in the 
records ; it was probably one of the means used by Col. 
Billop to enforce the order to prevent communication between 
New Jersey and Staten Island. 



"October the 30: 1781 to Bedell & Micheau, for Powder 
delivered by Clonell Bilops order when the Island was in- 
waded." 

The firm of Bedell & Micheau probably were the proprietors 
of the store kept at Fresh Kills during the war, and men- 
tioned in another place. 

Under date of Sep. 17th, 1785, we find the following : 

"At a meeting of us the Supervisors we found that there had 
been a Leaf and part of a Leaf cut out of this book between 
the Dates of 1781 one and one thousand seven hundred and 
Eighty two, and we do hereby Certify the same, as Witness 
Our hands 

GrOZEN RYERSS 

Richard Conner 
Peter Winant 
James Guyon" 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 157 

" Richmond Town Dec 16. 1786 

At a Meeting this day of the Supervisors we did agree to 
advertise & Notify the Freeholders of the County of Rich- 
mond of a Law respecting the payment of arrearages and 
commutation of Quit rents passed by the Legislature y e 1st 
day of April 1786 and accordingly have wrote some Adver- 
tisements and put them up. 

GrOZEN RYERS 

James G-uyon 
Richard Conner." 



In 1787, Benjamin Micheau, the county treasurer, announced 
to the Supervisors that he had been robbed, but the record 
does not inform us how the robbery had been effected, nor 
what amount had been abstracted ; we inter, from reading the 
meagre statement of the facts, that the treasurer had applied to 
the Legislature for a special act for his relief, and that one 
had been passed authorizing the Supervisors to afford the 
relief sought, if upon investigation they should find just 
reason for so doing. Accordingly several meetings were held, 
and a large amount of testimony taken, the result of which 
was, — to copy the record, — "after having heard all The 
Proofs and alligations respecting the segested (suggested?) 
Robbery as aforesaid, and having duly and deliberately Con- 
sidered the Evidince and alligations as the Law Directs, Do 
not Conceive That we the Supervisors are authoriz'd to raise 
the Money as Directed by said Law for the relief of Ben- 
jamin Micheau Late Treasurer of the County aforesaid. In 
Testimony Whereof we have hereunto set our hands This 

twenty Eighth Day June 1788 

Joshua Mersereau 

John Wandel 

Richard Conner 

Cornelius Cole." 



"1786 June 26 To Martinus Swaime 

for transporting Sam perkins £ 1. 9. 



158 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

To Abraham Barbanck for transporting 

Mrs. Ogg & a mulatto fellow £2. 18. 5' 



Dec 20th 1787 John Vanderbilt sold to Benjamin Michean 
conditionally for £14. 11. 10 current money of New York 
(about $36.50) 

One Negro wench named Ann 

One pide (pied) cow 

One red cow with white face 

One feather bed. 

The above is of the nature of a chattel mortgage. 

"1778 Oct 14 Met agreeable to ajornment, Examined the 
Loan officers Books and accts and found the £200 paid in to 
the Loan officers be again Let out : and the Interest Paid as 
pr Receipt vz. 

Rec d Sept. 18. 1788 from Mess 1 G-arrison & Dubois Loan offi- 
cers for Richmond County Twenty nine Pound Which to- 
gether With one Hundred & seventy six pound they paid the 
14th July last, and Twenty Pound their Sallery is in full for 
the Interest on £4500 put out on Loan in said County to the 
third Tuesday in J une last. 

George Bancker Treasurer 
Richard Conner "] 
Cornelius Cole I 
John Wandel j" Supervisors" 

Joshua Mersereau 



A record under date Dec. 1, 1789, contains the following 
accounts : 

"To Richard Scarret for digging a Grave £0. 10. 

To Lewis Dey for Boarding the Carpenters when repairing 
the County House & Building the Gallows & Furnished 100 
shingles 1 Bushel of Lime a pair of hinges & For fetching 
Anthony Cornish from New York Goal fees &c &c £6. 0. 

To Lewis Ryerss (then sheriff) for two locks for the Goal, 
for going to New York for to Report Anthony Cornishes 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 159 

Escape from Goal, for Going to New York when he was ap- 
prehended, for Fetching him from New York, Making the 
Gallows & Executing of Anthony Cornish, for Expence of 
Apprehending of sd Cornish at New York, Goal costs 
£16. 16. 0" 

We have been unable to find a more detailed account of 
this case. A very aged man, living when this was written 
(1875,) and nine years old at the time of the execution, and 
who remembered it well, said that the prisoner was known 
as "Black Antony," being a negro; he had committed a 
murder on board of a vessel in the Sound. The place of ex- 
ecution was near the site of the present school-house in Rich- 
mond Village. 



309 


330 


258 


440 


451 


267 


463 


409 


167 


381 


340 


127 



"Oct. 19: 1790. The following is the amount of the In- 
habitants of the county of Richmond as numbered by the 
Supervisors and Assessors of said county Agreeable to an Act 
of the Legislature passed the 18th day of February 1790. 

Males. Females. Slaves. 

Town of Southfield 
Town of Westfield 
Town of Northfield 
Town of Castleton 
Souls in Richmond Co. 
In all 3942 1593 1530 819" 

"March 1790 Benjamin Larzalere, To drawing an Inquisi- 
tion of a child found in a spring & duties therein required 
£1. 0. 

Benjamin Parker for attending the Jurors as Surgeon On 
the above Inquisition £0. 8. 

Lewes Dey for suppceneaing of evediuces in the above In- 
quisition £0. 5. 

Aug. 31 Dr. Benjamin Parker for Bord & Doctering of 
Peter Corkins in his last sicknis Untill his Death £26. 0. 

The clothing which said Corkins had at the time of his death 
was allowed on said Parker' s bill 



160 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

To Joseph. Taylor by order of Doctor Parker for sundries 
for the Burial of Peter Corkins £. 0. 8. 3. 

Nov. 30. 1790 To Dr. William Young for Doctering of 
Peter Breestead in his last Illness £16. 0. 0" 



" 1790 To Richard Taylor Undersheriff for Transporting 
John Fannatle to John Simonson constable for the town of 
Westfield and Victualing a his house £ 0. 7. 

To John Simonson Constable for Transporting John Fan- 
natle from his house to Amboy and from Thence to Wood 
Bridge as there was no Constable in Amboy as by account 
Brt in £ 0. 19. 



" July 7 : 1792 At a meeting of the Supervisors Together 
with the Judges of the Court of Common Pleas for the 
County of Richmond the 26th of June 1792 Lawrence Hill- 
yer, Joseph Barton Jun. were unanimously appointed Com- 
missioners to Superintend the Building of a Court House in 
the Town of Richmond on a Lott of ground given by Doctor 
Thomas Frost, and Thomas Frost having since been appointed 
a Commissioner to be with the said Lawrence Hillyer and 
Joseph Barton to Superintend Said Court House and to Ad- 
vertise for Undertakers & to receive proposals that may be 
Consistent with seconomy and the Interest of the County. 

Richard Conner Clk Supervisors ' ' 

In 1792 a tax of £315 ($787.50) was levied upon the county 
for building the court house, and the sum of £15 ($37.50) 
was paid to Dr. Thomas Frost in payment for the "Lott" 
which the previous entry says he had give?i for the purpose. 
The record does not give the name of the "undertaker" to 
whom the contract was awarded. 

This building is still standing opposite the hotel known as 
the Richmond County Hall. When the present court house 
was built, the old court house property was sold to Walter 
Betts, who converted it into a dwelling. It is now (1875) 
owned and occupied by Isaac M. Marsh, Esq. While this 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 161 

building was used for a court house, the brick building 
on the opposite corner was the prison. 

The same year, 1792, another tax of £84 ($210) was levied 
for finishing the court house. The completion of it was de- 
layed for nearly two years, for under date of Oct., 1794, we 
are informed that the supervisors met in it for the first time. 

The lot upon which the present court house stands was 
conveyed to the supervisors by Henry I. Seaman and wife by 
deed bearing date April 19. 1837, at a nominal price, for the 
purpose of erecting a court house thereon ; according to the 
terms of the conveyance, when the property shall cease to be 
used for that purpose, it shall revert to the said Seaman or 
his heirs. 

On the 22d December 1847 Farnham Hall and wife, in con- 
sideration of fifty dollars conveyed to the supervisors the lot 
in the rear of that upon which the court house now stands. 

"Feb. 5. 1795 The Supervisors Met Agreeable to notice 
at the House of Daniel Turner in Richmond Town To Draw 
up Petitions to Send to the legislature of this State for a new 
mode of Election Laws." 



1797 Dec. 14. Bernard Sprong for making a map of the 
towns of Southfield and Westfield & surveying Smoking 
Point Eoad £6. 6. 0. 

Richard Conner for making a map of the towns of Castleton 
and Northfield & service of Clerk of Supervisors £. 7. 2. 0. 
(Total $33.50) 

1801 October 26. To Lawrence Hilly er Esq for Erecting a 
Public Stocks according to Law $12 00 



1801 July Peter Ogilvie attorney for the poor masters of 
Southfield against Britton and Kettletas was allowed $14.37|- 
for his services. 



The following are from the Baptismal Records of St. 
Andrew' s Church : 



162 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

" 1780 June 18, a Child Belongeing to a Corprel of the 22 

Blgment." 

"Armye Baptise a Child of y e Army y e 19 July 1776 
Baptise a Child Charl by Name y e 21 of y e Scotch 
Dunkin son of Daniel McDaniel & Catrine y e Mother 
Baptis'd y e 28 th of July 1776." 

The baptism of parents and their child at the same time is 
an event of rare occurrence ; the following is an instance : 
" Larance Rolph Adult Was Born 10 of April 1742 
Pacience Lake Adult y e wife of Larance Rolph was Born 

Ja' 22 

William Roberson Son of y e above adults was Born y e 12 of 

february 1765." 

They were all baptized on the 18th day of August, 1765. 



Here is the age Richard Howell son of James Howell & 



"& 



of four of James Elizabeth his wife was Born April y e 17, 
Howell Children 1757 & thir Daughter Susana ware born 
& Elizabeths his y e 20 th of Decemb'r 1758 & thir son James 
wives ware born y e 15 th of february 1761 & 

Elisabeth thir Daughter ware born y e 16 

of february 1764 



" William Sharp > son Samuel was Born July the 29 about 

sunset 1783 and was Baptised August th 17—1788." 

' ' Reuben Son of Anthony & Mary Egberts Was born the 13th 

September 1770 on thursday about ten of the Clock in y e 

Morning. 

Martha Dauter of Antony & Mary Egborts born April y e 25th 

about ten of y e Clock in y e Morning 1772 on Saterday. 

Elener Daughter of Anthony & Mary Egberts Born y e 7th of 

August about of one y e clock in y e morning 1774. 



Burials 1763 

The Order of Vestery for y e Sactons fees 

for Digging a grave £0. 6. 



AJSTNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 163 

for inviting . £0. 

for y e pall 0. 

for tending 0. 

for Sodding 0. 

for Ringing y e Bell 0. 



8. 





3. 





3. 





3. 





3. 






£1. 6. 
The Clarks ffees for publishing & Baptysing, 

for writin the publishment £0. 

for fetching y e water to baptise a child 0. 

for Entering y e Child on Record 0. 

for sweeping y e Church for Every puew P r year. 0. 



3. 





0. 


6 


0. 


6 


1. 


6 



The following are copied from original receipts in the pos- 
session of a gentleman at Mariner' s Harbor, who resides upon 
a part of the property alluded to therein : 

" Received of Arent Van Amer Two Bushells & a half of 
Wheat in full for One years Quitt Rent of two Lotts of Land 
on Staten Island, one Granted to Philip Bendell & the other 
to John Taylor the 15th December 1680, being to the 25th 
March last, as Witness my hand this 12th August 1761 

Rich d Nicholls Dep ty Rec e Gem ." 

4t Received of Arent Van Amer Five bushells of Wheat in 
full for two Years Quitt Rent of the two Lotts of Land above 
mentioned to the 25th March last. As Witness my hand the 
10th June 1763. 

Richd. Nicholls Dep ty Rec r Gen 1 " 



u Received of Aarnt Van Amer Five Bushells of Wheat in 
full for two years Quitt Rent of the two Lotts of Land above 
mentioned to the 25th of March last. As Witness my hand 
this 2'd May 1765. 

Richd: Nicholls Dep ty Rec r Gen 1 " 

The above receipts are all written in a distinct, but very 
cramped hand on a scrap of paper 4 by 6 inches. The three 
following are written on the reverse side of the same paper. 

" Received of Arent Tan Amer two bushells and a half of 



164 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

Wheat in full for one years Quit Rent of the before mentioned 
Lotts of land due 25 March last. 
New York 14 May 1766 John Moore Dep. Eec r . Gfen 1 ." 



"Received of Arent Van Amer Two Bushells & a half of 
Wheat in full for One Years Quit Rent of the before men- 
tioned Lotts of land due 25 March last. 

Witness my hand 13 May 1767 

John Mooee Dep. Rec r . G-en 1 ." 



Reed of Arent Van Amen Two Bushells & half of Wheat 
in full for one Years Quit Rent of the above mentioned Lotts 
due 25th March last. Witness my hand the 6th July 1768. 



There are three other receipts for wheat bringing the pay- 
ment down to March 25th, 1775. Then on separate papers 
are the following : 

"Patent granted to John Taylor for a Tract of Land on 
Staten Island dated 15th Decem r 1680 at One & a half Bushel 
Wheat $1 Annum. 

f From 25 March 1775 

i y m 

Aaron Van Naum^j to 25 May 1787 is 12 : 2 

Deduct 8. — 



4. 2 @ 9/ £1. 17. 6 
14 years commutation — 9/ 6. 6. - 



£8. 3. 6 
Reced New Yok June 21st 1787 from Aaron Van Naum 
9 the hands of Joshua Mercereau Esq. Public Securities 
which with the Interest calculated thereon to the 25th May 
last amounts to Eight Pounds three shillings & Six Pence in 
full for Arrears of Commutation on the above Patent. 



<£8. 3. 6 Peter S. Cartenius State Aud r " 



There is another drawn in similar terms for the patent 



ANNA-LS OF STATED" ISLAND. 165 

granted to Philip Bendell, amounting to £5. 9. 0. The indi- 
vidual mentioned in these documents by the names of Arent 
Van Amer, — Van Amen — Van Naum, was Aaron Yan Name, 
the grandfather of Mr. Michael Yan Name, and his brother 
Charles Yan Name, both of Mariner' s Harbor. It will be ob- 
served that during the royal government the quit rent was 
payable in wheat, according to the terms of the patent. 
Under the Federal Government it appears to have been com- 
muted for money. Yide App. N. (41.) 

The following is a copy of the Sheriff's bill for taking two 
convicts to state prison, in 1828 : 

"Nov. 24 Stage fare to Quarantine $1 00 

Steam boat passage to New York 1 00 

Drink on the road from New York to 

Yonkers. 31 

Supper, horse feed & drink at Yonkers ... 2 00 

Toll gates 50 

Horse feed, lodging, drink & breakfast at 

Smith's in Tarrytown 3 63 

4 ' 25 Horse feed & drink at Yonkers 50 

Horse feed & drink at Manhattanville 50 

Stage f errage & 2 passages 2 00 

Stage hire 10 00 

2 days taking convicts to prison 4 00 

2 days do do for deputy 2 00 

N. B.— There were four persons on this journey — the 
sheriff, his deputy, and the two convicts. 



"At a Court of Sessions held for the county of Richmond 
March 3, 1712. 

Jos. Arrowsmith, Lambert Garrison, Nath 1 Britton, Abm. 
Coole (Cole), Peter Rezeau, Esq 8 . 

March y e 4th. Court opened and Grand Jury calld. The 
presentmts of the Grand Jury brought in ; the Court orders 
prosess to be issued out against those presented — viz. Peter 
Bibout for beating Mr Mony (Manee) and his wiffe. Barnt 



166 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

Marling, Andrew Bowman, William Foord & The Taylor 
peter peryne & Vn. Buttler, Peter Catherick and Nath 1 Brittin 
Junr. all for fighting. John Dove and John Bilew for carry- 
ing of Syder upon the Sabbath day. Abraham Van Tyle for 
allowing his negroe to Cary Irone to the Smiths on the Sab- 
bath day, and Mark Disosway for being drunk on the Sab- 
bath day." 

As Richmond had not yet been made the County-seat, we 
infer, from the following entry, that the Courts convened in 
various places in the County, though Stony Brook was recog- 
nized as the County-seat: "March 2, 1713 Court 

a journed till to morow at Ten of the Clock in the forenoon 
to the North Side To Coll Grahams Court opened, and 
ajourned Till y e fist Tuesday on 7ber (September) next. — God 
Save the Queen." 

Col. Aug. Graham was one of the judges of the Common 
Pleas and Sessions. 



At a Court of Sessions held March 5th, 1716, "it was ordered 
by the court that Nicholas Brittin pay Twelve shillings fline 
for his misbehaviour to Nath 1 Brittin Esq. and also ordered 
that he beg Justice Brittins pardon and promise to doe so no 
more, and also to pay all the charges of this action." 



Debtors were arrested, and obliged to give bail or be incar- 
cerated. The return to the precept of arrest by the sheriff or 
constable was "Cepi Corpus." 



" Att a Court held for the county of Richmond In the pro. 
of New York on the first day of March in the first yeare of 
His Majesties Reigne George by the Grace of God King of 
Great Brittain &c ann. Dom. 1714 — Ordered That Garritt 
Weghtie (Veghte) may be admitted to preffer The Lysence 
that he and some others, In behalfe of the Rest of the Dutch 
protestant Congregation In this County Have obtained of His 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 167 

Excelly. Coll, Robt. Hunter Esqr. &c. The Same being Read 
as also a peticon upon the Same, praying our approbacon 
for ther Erecting a Meeting House for the Exercise of ther 
protestant profession Contiguous to the Burial place on the 
North Syd of the Sd. Island They Esteeming it a place Most 
Convenient for that purpose, upon there pray and Humble 
peticon — It is Ordered by The Court that having Considered 
thereof Have Granted the prayer of the Peticoners according- 
ly, Ordered by the Court that this be Entered In our Book 
of Lysicns." 



September 3d, 1717, all the retailers of strong liquors were 
summoned to appear before the court of General Sessions to 
show by what authority they retailed ; thereupon appeared 
Mauris Williams, Jean Brown, Anthony Wright, Barnt 
Symerson, Daniel Lane, John Garrea, David Bissett, Corne- 
lius Eyman, Lamb* Garrittson Jun. Benj n Bill, Jacob John- 
son, Isaac Symerson, Joseph Bastido ; — 13 in the whole 
county. 



In almost every instance where a prisoner was acquitted by 
the jury, he was discharged by the Court upon payment of 

costs. 



September 6, 1720, "Ordered that a good suffic' publick 
pound be erected and made at or near the burying place by 
the Dutch Church in the North precinct ; and Ordered Like- 
wise that there be another pound erected in some convenient 
place at Smoaking point in the West precinct. Whoever 
will be at the charge of making sd. pounds shall have all 
profitt accruing by poundage." 



At a Court of Sessions held in the Court House at Stony 
Brook, on the 5th day of March, in the ninth of his Majestys' 
reign (1723), "Benjamin Bill Eq r high Sheriffe of the County 
of Richmond Complains to the Court of the Insufficiency of 
his majesty Goal for the said County that it is all together 



168 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

soe Insufficiency that it is impossible to keep any prisoner 
safe as the Said Goal Divers prisoners having lately Escaped 
thereout and therefore the said sheriff e protest against the 
Inhabitants of the County of Richmond for Repairing the 
said Goal and against all waits Escapes that may Ensue for 
the Insufficiency of the said Goal and pray that his protest 
may be entered accordingly." 

In 1725, Nicholas Larzelier, then High Sheriff, repeated the 
same complaint in the same terms. Two years after he re- 
peats it again. The prison alluded to here was not at Stony 
Brook at that time, though the Court House was there until 
1729. In 1710 the prison was built at "Cuckols towne" 
(Richmond) by order of the Court, as follows : 

' ' Ordered that Mr. Lambart Garisone and Mr Wm. Tilly er 
(the late and then present sheriff) See the prison House built 
at Cuckols Towne — y e Dimensions Twelve foot in breadth, 
fourteen foot Long, Two Story high, six foot y e Loer Room 
from beam to plank, and the uper Story Six foot, all to be 
built with stone, and for building of the sd. prison the Said 
Undertakers have hereby power To take the Monys out of 
the Collectors hands for carying on the sd. work & the order 
of y e sd. Undertakers & Receipts shall be a Sufficient dis- 
charge to y e sd. Collectors." 



The clerk, Alexander Stuart, evidently had an exalted idea 
of his abilities as a penman. His initial letters are of an ex- 
traordinary size, and ornamented in an extraordinary manner. 
He was withal something of a pedant, and makes a wonder- 
ful display of his knowledge of Latin. The title page of the 
record which he kept reads : "The book of Records of the 
Court of Sessions and Common Pleas Held in the County of 
Richmond in the province of New York. Comine d y e 6th day 
of March an 1710-11 and kept by Alex 1 Stuart Clk. 

Quid f aciunt Leges abi Sola pecunia regnit 
Aut abi paupertas — Vincere Nulla potest." 

Then anticipating apparently the inability of his successors 
properly to close the volume, on the last page he has again 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 169 

displayed his name, beneath which is another Latin line, 
"Vita hominis sine Literis Mors est. August y e 12th 1712." 



The Courts of General Sessions were frequently conducted 
by an overflowing bench, as for example, on the 22d Sept. 
1761, there were present 1st, 2d and 3d Judges, and nine 
Justices — twelve in all. A bench of 8, 9, or 10 judges was 
not uncommon. 

On the 26th day of September, 1775, there was a Court of 
Common Pleas and General Sessions held at the Court House, 
in Richmond town, after which there is no record of any 
Court having been held in the county until Monday the 3d 
day of May, 1784, "being the first Court held after the De- 
claration of Independence being published." This Court 
was held at the house of Thomas Frost, the court-house 
having been burned by the British, David Mersereau, Esq., 
being Judge. 

The first case on the record is entitled — 

" The State r^he Q. ran( j j ur y brought in a bill of In- 

ve. V 

Thomas Frost ) dictment against the Defendant for saying, 

'Johnson that G d — Reble, G- — d — the Rebles, by 

G — I will sacrifice every G — d Sun of a b of them,' 

and the Deft, being in Court was called and the Indictment 
Read to him. — Whereupon he pleaded not guilty and entered 
into Recognizance himself in twenty pounds and Peter Mer- 
sereau his security in ten pounds to appear at the next Ses- 
sion to Try the Traverse." Unfortunately there is no record 
of the result of this indictment. The next court whose pro- 
ceedings are recorded was held in September, 1794. 

It may be a matter of interest to know the names of the 
officers of the first court held under the new government ; 
they are as follows : 

David Mersereau, Esq., Judge ; Cornelius Mersereau, Hen- 
drick Garrison, Peter Rezeau, Anthony Fountain, John 
Wandle, Gilbert Jackson, and Lambert Merrill, associate 



170 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

judges, Abraham Bancker, Esq., Sheriff; Jonathan Lewis, 
Coroner ; Daniel Salter, James McDonald, John Baker and 
Abraham Burbanck, Constables. The first act was to read 
the Commissions of the several officers. The first civil suit 
on the calendar was Richard Housman against Henry Perine. 
Trespass, damages £50. 

The following items relating to Staten Island, are taken 
from the "Journal of the New York Provincial Congress." 



The deputies elected by the freeholders of Richmond 
County to the first Provincial Congress, were — 

Paul Michau, John Journey, Aaron Cortelyou, Richard 
Conner, and Maj. Richard Lawrence; they were all in at- 
tendance at the first session in New York, May 22, 1775, ex- 
cept Lawrence, who did not present himself until June 1st. 

When the second Provincial Congress convened, Richmond 
County was not represented, but the following communica- 
tion from citizens of that county was read at the meeting of 
Congress : 

Richmond County, Dec'r 15th, 1775. 
Mr. President : 

Sir : — Your favour of 2d Decern' r. we hereby acknowl- 
edge came safe to our hand, and with the majority of oar 
committee considered the contents. We, agreeable to your 
request, have caused by advertisement the freeholders and 
inhabitants in our county to be convened on this day, in 
order that their sense might be taken whether they will 
choose Deputies to represent them in a Provincial Congress 
or not. Accordingly, a number of the said freeholders and in- 
habitants did appear : a regular poll was opened, and con- 
tinued till 6 o'clock ; at the conclusion of which it appeared 
that a majority was, for the present, for sending no Deputies. 
Our former conduct in sending of Deputies to represent us 
in Provincial Congress, was elevated with encouraging hopes 
of having, ere this, obtained the so much desired point in 
our view, namely, a reconciliation with Great Britain. But, 
with anxiety we express it, that the hopes of obtaining so 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 171 

desirable an event, is now almost vanished out of our sight ; 
and, instead of which, we behold with horror, every ap- 
pearance of destruction, that a war with Great Britain will 
bring upon us. Under these apprehensions, and in our par- 
ticular situation, we hope you will view us, and when 
candidly considered, we trust will furnish you with sufficient 
reason, for the present, to forbear with us. 

We wish and pray that if yet any hope of reconciliation 
is left, that measures might be adopted, if possible, to obtain 
that desirable end, in wishing of which we conclude ourselves,. 
Your most obt. 

And most humble serv'ts, 
John Tyson, 
Christian Jacobson. 
Daniel Corsen, 
Peter Mersereau, 
Joseph Christopher, 
Lambert Merrill, 

John Poillon. 
To Nath'l Woodhull, 

Prest. of Provl. Congress, New York. 

P. S. — Should the Congress think it necessary for further 
information of the state of our county, they will please to 
order two of our committee to appear before them for that 
purpose." 

During the recess of the Congress, the Committee of Safety 
was in session. On the 12th of January, 1776, Richard 
Lawrence and Christian Jacobson appeared before the Com- 
mittee, and represented that the majority of the people of 
Richmond County were not averse, but friendly to the 
measures of Congress ; Lawrence was a member of the 
Committee for Richmond County. 

Sept. 1, 1775, David Burger, of New York, sent a letter 
to the Congress complaining that sundry persons in Rich- 
mond County had supplied a transport with live stock, and 
the matter was referred to the members of that county to 
make inquiry on the subject. 



172 ANNALS OF STATEJST ISLAND. 

On the 1st December, 1775, Paul Micheau, one of the Dep- 
uties from Richmond County, in the first Provincial Congress, 
addressed a letter to the Secretary of the Congress, in which 
he says that he had requested the county committee to con- 
vene the people to elect new deputies ; that a meeting of the 
committee had been called, and that only a minority ap- 
peared, who for that reason declined to act, and requests 
Congress to write to them and learn their reasons for not con- 
vening the people, and concludes by hoping the Congress 
may be able to keep tranquility and good order in the 
Province, and make peace with the mother country. He 
then gave the names of the committee as follows : 

Capt. John Kittletas, Capt. Christian Jacobson, Capt. Cor- 
nelius Dussosway, Henry Perine, David Latourette, Esq., 
Peter Mersereau, John Poillon, Moses Depuy, Lambert Mer- 
rill, John Tysen, Joseph Christopher, George Barrus and 
David Corsen. 

To this communication Congress replied the next day in a 
letter addressed to ' ' John Poillon, John Ty sen and Lambert 
Merril, of the committee for Richmond County," urging 
them to elect Deputies to represent them without delay, and 
they added emphatically, "rest assured, gentlemen, that the 
neighboring Colonies will not remain inactive spectators if you 
show a disposition to depart from the Continental Union." 
They concluded their letter in these words : " We beg, gen- 
tlemen, you will consider this matter with that seriousness 
which the peace, good order and liberties of your county re- 
quire." 

The answer of the committee is given before under date of 
the 15th December, 1775. 

On the 21st, Congress passed several resolutions, censuring 
Richmond county for its delinquency, and resolved that if 
within fifteen days a list of the names of those who oppose a 
representation in Congress be not sent to that body, the whole 
county shall be considered delinquent, and entirely put out 
of the protection of Congress, and that intercourse with them 
shall be interdicted, and that the names of delinquents shall 
be published in all the newspapers of the colony. 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 173 

It was then that Lawrence and Jacobson had this interview 
with the Committee of Safety, on the 12th of January, 1776, 
as given before. 

On the 23d of the same month the following letter was re- 
ceived by the Committee of Safety from the Richmond County 
committee. 

" Richmond County, Jan'y 19, 1776. 

Gentlemen — Whereas the committee for this county have 

caused by advertisement the freeholders to be convened on 

this day, in order to elect two members to represent this 

county in Provincial Congress ; accordingly a poll was 

opened for that purpose, without any opposition, at the close 

of which it appeared by a majority, that Messrs Adrian 

Banker and Richard Lawrence was duly elected to represent 

this county in Provincial Congress until the second Tuesday 

in May next, which we hope will be agreeable to the rest of 

that body. 

We are, gentlemen, 

Your mo. obt. and most humble servts. 

Christian Jacobson, 
Lambert Merrill, 
John Tyson, 
Peter Mersereau, 
George Barnes, 
Moses Dupuy, 
David Latourette, 
Daniel Corsen, 
Henry Perine, 
Joseph Christopher, 

To the Committee of Safety on recess 
of the Provincial Congress in New York." 

In the interim, however, the delinquency of Richmond 
County had been represented to the Continental Congress', 
which body had passed the following resolve : 

" In Congress, Feb'y 8th, 1776. 
The inhabitants of Richmond county, in the Colony of 
New York, having refused to send Deputies to represent them 



174 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

in Provincial Convention, and otherwise manifested their 
enmity and opposition to the system and measures adopted 
for preserving the liberties of America ; and as a just punish- 
ment for their inimical conduct, the inhabitants of that 
Colony having been prohibited by the Convention from all 
intercourse and dealings with the inhabitants of the said 
county ; and this Congress being informed by the Committee 
of Safety of that Colony, that the freeholders of the said 
county did afterwards, without any opposition, elect Deputies 
to represent them in Provincial Convention ; but as the pro- 
ceedings against them had been submitted to the consideration 
of Congress, it was apprehended Deputies wo aid not be re- 
ceived until the sense of Congress should be communicated. 
.Resolved, That it be referred to the said Provincial Con- 
vention to take such measures respecting the admission of 
the Deputies, and revoking the interdict on the inhabitants 
of the said county, as they shall judge most expedient, 
provided that the said Deputies and major part of the in- 
habitants of said county shall subscribe the association en- 
tered into by that Colony. 

Extract from the minutes. 

Chas. Thompson, Sec'y." 
It wa.s then ordered by the Provincial Congress that the 
resolution of the Continental Congress be transmitted to the 
Deputies lately elected by the people of Richmond County. 

The Congress being apprehensive that Gen. Clinton would 
attempt to land upon Staten Island for the purpose of making 
depredations and carrying off live stock, had requested the 
Provincial Congress of New Jersey to send Col. Herd, with 
his regiment, to the Island to prevent it, and lest he might 
not get there in time, a like request was made to the com- 
mittee of Elizabethtown. This measure excited the appre- 
hensions of the people of Staten Island, who were suspicious 
of the errand of Col. Herd and his regiment. Accordingly, 
on the 19th of February, the two deputies, Adrian Bancker 
and Richard Lawrence, hastened to inform the Congress that 
they had subscribed to the association entered into by the 



ANNALS OF STATEN" ISLAND. 175 

Colony, and that seven-eighths of the people had done so like- 
wise " long since," and that the coming of Col. Herd, " with 
a large body of men, to call the people to account for their 
inimical conduct," just then when many of the people were 
coming into the measures, and the cause gaining ground daily, 
would have an injurious effect, and they suggest that the 
stopping of the New Jersey forces would quiet the minds of 
the people. 

On the same day Congress replied and assured the Deputies 
that Col. Herd's errand to the Island did not in any manner 
relate to the people of the county, except to protect their 
property, and that a counter request had been forwarded to 
New Jersey. The two deputies were requested to attend the 
Congress and to bring with them the proof that the majority 
of the people had subscribed to the association, to enable them 
to take their seats. 

The committee of Elizabethtown had caused the apprehen- 
sion and imprisonment at that place, of Isaac Decker, Abm. 
Harris and Minne Burger, and had held Richard Conner, 
Esq., under bonds to appear before them, upon charges not 
specified. The Congress of New York entered into a corres- 
pondence with the committee of that place, and requested 
them to send the delinquents to the county where they be- 
longed, to be tried by the county committee. The committee 
of Richmond were also informed of the action of the Con- 
gress, and were instructed to try the delinquents and mete 
out to them impartial justice, and report to Congress. 

On the 23d of February, Mr. Adrian Bancker's name ap- 
pears among those of the members of the Congress. 

On the 28th of February, Decker and Burger were returned 
to their own county, and the charges against them and 
Richard Conner were also transmitted to the committee of 
Richmond. Nothing is said of Harris. 

The committee of Elizabethtown, at the time of surrender- 
ing them, disclaimed all knowledge of their offences, but inti- 
mated that they had been arrested by Col. Heard, at the in- 
stance of either the New York or the Continental Congress. 



176 ANJSTALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

On the 8th of March, Hendric Garrison, of Richmond 
county, forwarded a complaint to the Congress, that while he 
was attending as a witness before the committee of said coun- 
ty, and while under examination, the said committee permit- 
ted the defendants, Cornelius Martinb. Richard Conner and 
John Burbank, to insult and abuse him, and asks the pro- 
tection of Congress, as he considers his person and property 
unsafe. 

Lord Stirling, as commander of the Continental troops in 
New York, issued a warrant to apprehend John James Boyd, 
of Richmond county, and to have him brought before the 
Congress. Capt. John Warner, to whom the warrant was de- 
livered for execution, laid it before that body on the 14th of 
March, when it was considered and decided that the said 
Boyd is so unimportant and insignificant a person as not to 
deserve the trouble and expense of apprehending him. Boyd 
resented this depreciation of his importance, and on the 21st 
sent a note to the Committee of Safety claiming to be "a 
steady and warm friend to his country," and pronounces any 
accusation against him unfounded. 

On the 1st of April, 1776, Christian Jacobson, as the chair- 
man of the County Committee, reported the organization of 
four companies of militia in the county, the officers of which 
were ordered to be duly commissioned. App. N. (42). 

On the 3d of April Mr. Lawrence, a member from Rich- 
mond, reported that the county was already furnished with 
14 good flats or scows, which were sufficient for the removal 
of the stock from the Island, and that the building of two 
more, as previously ordered, would be a useless expense. 
These scows, or flats, were held in readiness to remove the 
cattle to New Jersey, if the English ships of war on the coast 
should attempt to seize them, as they had done in several 
other places. 

On the 12th of April. Lord Stirling informed the Commit- 
tee of Safety that he had Gen. Putnam's orders to march 
with a brigade of troops for Staten Island, and that he would 
be under the necessity of quartering the soldiers in the farm- 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 177 

houses for the present ; he requests the people to be notified 
of the fact, so that they might prepare quarters most conven- 
ient to themselves, and to be assured that he would make the 
residence of the troops as little burdensome as possible. 
The Committee of Richmond were requested to prepare 
empty farm-houses, barns, &c, for the reception of the sol- 
diers, and to use their "influence with the inhabitants to con- 
sider the soldiers as their countrymen and fellow citizens em- 
ployed in the defence of the liberties of their country in gen- 
eral, and of the inhabitants of Richmond County in particu- 
lar, and to endeavour accommodate them accordingly." 

On the 2d of May, Mr. Garrison, (Hendric), chairman of 
the County Committee, was present at the meeting of the 
Committee of Safety, and inquired whether the people would 
be paid for fire- wood furnished to the troops in Richmond 
County, and for their labor in preparing the guard-house, at 
the request of Lord Stirling, and was referred to Col. Mifflin. 
Hence, we infer that some of Lord Stirling's troops had taken 
up their quarters on the Island. 

On the 6th of May, G-en. Washington wrote to the Com- 
mittee of Safety, informing them that Peter Poillon, of 
Richmond county, had been arrested for supplying the king's 
ships with provisions. On the 8th, Poillon was brought before 
the Committee and examined. He did not deny the charge, 
but pleaded in extenuation that the regulations for prevent- 
ing intercourse with the king's ships had not been published 
in Richmond County until the 2d or 3d of that month, and 
that therefore he was ignorant of them ; he stated further, 
that he left home with a considerable sum of money to 
discharge a debt in Kings County, together with some articles 
of provision for New York market, of the value of about three 
pounds ; that while passing the ship of war Asia, at as great a 
distance as he safely could, he was fired at, and could not 
escape ; he proved further, by reputable witnesses, that he 
was a respectable man, and had always been esteemed a 
friend to the liberties of his country. He was discharged, 
with a caution hereafter to keep at a safe distance from the 



178 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

king's ship, and to warn his fellow citizens of Richmond 
county to do the same. 

May 18 to 1776, a certificate signed by Christian Jacobson, 
chairman of the Richmond county committee, dated April 
22d, 1776, was presented to the Provincial Congress, and 
attested by Israel D. Bedell, clerk, and directed to Paul 
Micheau, Richard Conner, Aaron Cortelyou and John 
Journey, was read and filed, whereby it appeared that these 
gentlemen had been elected to represent Richmond county 
in that body, with power to any two of them to meet to con- 
stitute a quorum, with the second Tuesday of May, 1777. 

On the 5th of June, 1776, Congress issued an order for the 
arrest of a number of persons in several counties who were 
inimical to the cause of America ; those from Richmond 
county were Isaac Decker, Abm. Harris, Ephm. Taylor and 
Minne Burger. They also ordered that several persons who 
held office under the king should be summoned to appear 
before the Congress, and among them are found the names 
of Benjamin Seaman and Christopher Billop, of Richmond. 

There is nothing in the Journal of the Congress to show 
that these orders and resolutions were ever carried into effect. 

On the 9th of July the Provincial Congress convened at the 
court-house in White Plains, Westchester county ; the British 
then having taken possession of Staten Island, there were no 
deputies from Richmond county in attendance. At this 
meeting the Declaration of Independence was received and 
read ; it was also reported that the British had taken posses- 
sion of Staten Island without opposition, and detachments had 
advanced towards Bergen Point and Elizabethtown. The 
Declaration having been read, it was unanimously adopted, 
and the Congress passed a resolution to support the same, 
" at the risk of our lives and fortunes." It was thus ordered 
to be published. It was then "Resolved and Ordered, that 
the style or title of this house be changed from that of the 
' Provincial Congress of the Colony of New York,' to that of 
' The Convention of the Representatives of the State of New 
York.' " 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 179 

The Convention recognized the impracticability of electing 
Senators and Members of Assembly in the southern district of 
the State, Westchester excepted, and as it was reasonable and 
right that the people of that district should be entitled to 
representation in legislation, they proceeded to appoint these 
officers ; and for the county of Richmond, Joshua Mersereau 
and Abm. Jones were appointed : the latter, as has already 
been noticed, was subsequently denied his seat, on account 
of his sympathy for the enemy. 

The proposed expedition of Col. Herd to Staten Island to 
protect the live stock there, originated with Gen. Lee. Hav- 
ing communicated his apprehensions to the Committee of 
Safety, that body, on the 10th of February, 1776, addressed 
a letter to the Provincial Congress of New Jersey, in which 
they say: "The entrance of Genl. Clinton into our port on 
pretence of merely paying a visit to G-ovr. Tryon, though he 
has been followed by a transport with troops, which we have 
good reason to believe are only a part of 600 that embarked 
with him at Boston, renders it highly probable that some 
lodgement of troops was intended to be made in or near this 
city;" and as no troops from New York could be spared 
from its defence, and as Col. Herd's regiment was so near 
Staten Island, Gen. Lee deemed it proper that he should be 
sent over for its protection. The next day the Committee 
addressed another letter to the same Convention, informing 
them that the Mercury, ship of war, with two transports un- 
der her convoy, had left the port, and anchored near Staten 
Island, and express their fears that the Col. will arrive too 
late. In reply, the New Jersey Congress inform the Com- ' 
mittee on the 12th that Col. Herd, with 700 men, have been 
ordered to march immediately to Staten Island. On the 17th, 
Congress expressed their thanks to Col. Herd for his alacrity 
in their service, but as the danger had now passed (probably 
by the departure of the ships) his services would not be re- 
quired. 

After the British had taken possession of Staten Island, 
the County of Richmond does not appear to have been repre- 



180 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

sented in the Legislature of the State for a long time. There 
were representatives who were entitled to their seats, but 
they were not permitted to leave the Island. Communica- 
tion with the main land, or with New York, or Long Island, 
was prohibited, except by permission, and consequently in 
the succeeding sessions of the Legislature the name of a 
representative from Richmond does not appear. 

In the Journals of the Convention, Committee of Safety, 
etc., the days of the week were all recorded in Latin thus : 

"Die Veneris 10 Hora a. m. April 21st, 1775 ;" that is, 
Friday, 10 o'clock, before noon. 

Die Solis, day of the Sun, Sunday. 

Die Lunse " Moon, Monday. 

Die Martis " Mars, Tuesday. 

Die Mercurie " Mercury, Wednesday. 

Die Jovis " Jupiter, Thursday. 

Die Veneris " Venus, Friday. 

Die Saturnia '■ Saturn, Saturday. 

The last was sometimes written "Die Sabbati," in allusion 
to the Hebrew Sabbath. 

The Convention sometimes met on Sunday, but usually 
adjourned, unless business of the utmost importance de- 
manded attention. 

The first Staten Island newspaper was published on the 
17th day of October, 1827 ; it was called the Richmond Re- 
publican, and was edited by Charles N. Baldwin ; it hailed 
from Tompkinsville, but was printed in Chambers Street, 
New York. Its publication day was Saturday, and in poli- 
tics it was rabidly democratic. Its editor announced that he 
also sold lottery tickets, and solicited orders for sign and or- 
namental painting. 

A few notices and advertisements from some of the early 
numbers of this hebdomadal will interest the readers of the 
present day : 

"Boat Found. Taken up on the beach of the subscriber, 
on the 22d of October last, a yawl about twelve feet long, 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 181 

garbed streaks, oak, cedar top, painted black, turpentine 
bottom. 

CORNELIUS VANDERBILT." 

Under date of November 10th, 1827, is the following : 

' ' Steam Boat Bolivae, 
Capt. Vanderbilt (Oliver), will run regularly during the win- 
ter months, after Monday 12th, as follows : 

Leave Staten Island at 8 A. M. and 1 P. M. 

Leave New York at 10 A. M. and 3 P. M. 

Fare 25 cents. All baggage at the risk of the owners." 

In May following two steamboats ran on the ferry, viz. : 

The Bolivar, Capt. Oliver Vanderbilt, and the Nautilus, 
Capt. Robert Hazard. They advertised to leave Staten Island 
at 7, 8, 10 A. M. ; 12.30, 2.30, 4.30 and 6 P. M. New York 
at 8, 10 A. M. ; 12.30, 2.30, 4.30, 5.30 and 7 P. M. Fare 12£ 
cents. 

Frances B. Fitch — though probably not a votary of the 
muses — advertised that he had started a ferry "at the 
Blazing Star, with a first rate scow, and will put on a horse- 
boat when the travel will allow." 

The ladies of Tompkinsville met at the school-house on 
Monday, March 5th, 1828, " to purchase and make up cloth- 
ing for the suffering Greeks," and the next month the "New 
York Greek Committee" acknowledged the receipt of 173 
garments from the inhabitants of Tompkinsville. 

The people of Holland's Hook gave notice that thereafter 
their place would be called Jacksonville. 

On the 29th day of March, 1828, a stage commenced run- 
ning between Quarantine and Richmond, fare 37^ cents ; but 
in June of the same year it was reduced to 12^ cents. 

In July, 1828, Dr. Samuel R. Smith advertised that he had 
commenced the practice of his profession in Tompkinsville. 

1836, September 14th, Aaron Burr died at Port Richmond, 
in the hotel now known as the Continental, in the second 
story northeast room. 



"C." 



ANECDOTES, &c. 



184 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 



At the time of the Revolution, and for more than half a 
century thereafter, there stood on the Shore Road, New 
Brighton, at the foot of the hill upon which St. Mark' s Hotel 
now stands, a long, single-story, stone house, known as Van 
Buskirk' s tavern ; but, towards the latter part of the time, as 
Brower's tavern, so called from the names of the individuals 
who kept the house. On the evening of May 24th, 17 — , there 
was a gay assembly at this house, composed of many young 
ladies from the vicinity, and a corresponding number of 
young men, many of whom were officers of the army en- 
camped on the Island. They had met to celebrate the King' s 
birthday. A few of the young ladies, who were the daugh- 
ters of farmers living on the Shore Road, had been brought 
there by water, as the most convenient way of reaching the 
place, and now, as the hour of midnight was about to strike, 
were wending their way to the shore, where their boats were 
in waiting to convey them home. There were four of them, 
each one escorted by an officer, their oarsmen being negroes. 
The party was equally divided, occupying two boats. They 
were joyous and mirthful as they sailed on the calm surface 
of the Kills until they reached a point opposite the little cove, 
which is now filled up and occupied by the New Brighton 
wharf, at the foot of Jersey Street, when suddenly four boats, 
each containing five or six men, shot out of their concealment, 
and surrounded the homeward-bound party. The ladies 
manifested a good deal of alarm until they were told that no 
harm should befall them ; but the officers remained silent and 
calm, whatever they might have apprehended. At length 
one of them arose and inquired, "Who are you? What do 
you want \ Where did you come from ?" 

"Too many questions in a bunch," replied one of the in- 
truders, who appeared to be regarded as a leader. " Ask 
your questions singly, and I will reply to them." 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 185 

" Well, then," resumed the officer, " Who are you ?" 

"Citizens of the United States of America," was the reply. 

" Where did you come from ?" 

"From New Jersey." 

" What do you want ?" 

"You — so make no ado about it, but each one of you get 
into a separate boat without delay." 

They saw at once that neither remonstrance nor resistance 
would be of any avail, and quietly obeyed the order they had 
received ; "trapped," said they, as they did so. 

The leader told the ladies that he was sorry to interrupt 
their enjoyment, but if they were afraid to return home with- 
out their red-coated protectors, he would furnish them with 
some who wore blue coats. This proffered civility they at 
once and unanimously declined, and were sent on their way 
under the care of their colored oarsmen. 

The four officers were taken to a prison in New Jersey, 
where they were confined until duly exchanged. 



Towards the close of the war, a scout or spy, who had vis- 
ited New York and had returned to New Brunswick, where 
he resided, reported that the British had loaded two large 
barges or batteaux with powder and other munitions of war, 
and intended to have them towed into Great Kills, Staten 
Island, after dark that evening, to escape the observations of 
the Americans. Several whale boats were at once prepared 
and manned for the purpose of capturing or sinking these 
batteaux. They timed their enterprise so as to reach the 
mouth of the Raritan after dark. The night was rainy and 
exceedingly dark, but with muffled oars, they pushed on, 
guiding themselves by the lights upon the Island until they 
entered the Great Kills. Here they concealed themselves and 
their boats, awaiting the arrival of their prey. About mid- 
night the measured strokes of the tow-boats were heard, and 
lights were seen to enter the Kills ; voices were heard speaking 
jn subdued tones, and presently the dropping of the anchors 
in the water was distinctly audible at no great distance ; then 



186 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

the departure of the row-boats, and all became silent. The 
Jerseyman waited patiently an honr or two, and then went in 
quest of the batteaux. These were readily found and exam- 
ined as well as the intense darkness permitted. A consulta- 
tion was briefly held in whispers, and it was decided that as 
the boats were so large, they would scuttle one and take the 
other in tow. Each batteau had a sentry on board, who, to 
escape the drenching of the rain, had comfortably ensconced 
himself under the tarpaulin which had been drawn over the 
hatch of each boat ; and the beating of the rain upon their 
shelter, if it had not soothed them to slumber, would have 
effectually prevented them from hearing the slight noise made 
by the augers used in boring a number of holes in the bow 
of one of the boats. This done, the cable of the other boat 
was severed, a rope attached, and it was quietly towed out 
into the bay. 

They were well up the Raritan with their prize when day 
began to break, and then the bewildered sentry awoke and 
came out from his retreat ; he was immediately secured and 
disarmed by two men, who had been placed on board for the 
purpose. He very soon comprehended the situation, and 
when it was offered to release him and put him ashore, he de- 
clined, saying that he would never go back to the army again, 
as he was sure of being shot for suffering himself to fall 
asleep on his post, when a shout or a shot would have been 
heard on the land and brought a rescue. The sentry on the 
other boat was probably drowned when the boat sunk, as in 
the deep darkness it was impossible to see which way to swim 
to reach the shore. The captured boat was brought to New 
Brunswick in safety, and was found to contain many articles 
which the Americans were in need of. 



Sir William Howe, though a strict disciplinarian, holding 
every man sternly to the line of his duty, nevertheless appears 
to have been of an amiable disposition, not disposed to 
molest any one for the expression of an opinion hostile to the 
government represented by him, except under extraordi- 



AISHSTALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 187 

nary circumstances. Though a century has passed since he 
dwelt upon the Island, tradition has transmitted to us a few 
anecdotes of his intercourse with the people. On some public 
occasion a number of the citizens had congregated at Rich- 
mond, and in the course of their conversation, one of them, 
whose name we shall probably be able to discover before we 
conclude the narrative, in speaking of military commissions, 
alluding to that of David Alston, signed a few days before, 
remarked, "I would rather have one commission with the 
name of the American George attached to it, than a dozen 
with that of the English George." Some of his friends and 
neighbors reproved him for uttering a sentiment which might 
be construed as treasonable, and intimated that he might yet 
be called upon to answer for it. The remark, it would appear 
by the sequel, had been reported at headquarters, but no 
official notice was ever taken of it. 

Some time, probably several months after, during one of 
Sir William's official visits to the Island, — for after the cap- 
ture of the city of New York, his headquarters for a time 
were there — he, with his staff, were riding along one of the 
dusty Island roads, and being very thirsty, they entered a 
large gate which stood invitingly open, and stopped at the door 
of a comfortable farm-house without dismounting. The farmer 
came out and inquired what he could do to serve Sir William 
Howe and his friends. "We are exceedingly thirsty," said 
the commander-in-chief, " and have called to obtain a drink 
of milk if you have any to spare." "Yes," replied the 
farmer, " I will bring you some, if you will not dismount." 
This they declined to do, so the milk was brought to them 
by the farmer in a huge earthen pitcher, while his wife ac- 
companied him, carrying a number of glasses. After they 
had all partaken of as much as they desired, and the prof- 
fered payment being positively declined, Sir William re- 
marked, " You are very kind, sir ; may I know to whom I 
am obliged for this favor ?" The farmer gave him his name. 
"Indeed," exclaimed he, "I have heard of you before" — 
the farmer looked up inquiringly, — "you are the man who 



188 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

prefers one of G-eorge Washington's commissions to a dozen 
of King George's" — the farmer's countenance fell, — "though 
I differ with you widely," he continued, "you need be under 
no apprehension ; we are both entitled to our respective 
opinions, and the right to express them, so long as we do no 
harm thereby." Bidding the alarmed farmer and his wife 
adieu, the party rode on. Sir William having observed that 
the farmer would shortly have an increase in his family, 
called him aside and whispered something in his ear which 
created a smile upon the countenances of both, and a reply 
from the farmer ; "if so, it shall be as you wish." 

Now, it so happened that in the course of a few days after 
the brief visit of Sir William and his staff, the farmer's fam- 
ily was increased by the birth of a son. Though he and his 
family were attached to the Reformed Dutch Church, and all 
his other children had been baptized in that church, on the 
baptism of this son, he was taken to St. Andrew's, where 
the ceremony was performed ; Sir William Howe was pre- 
sent, and the name given to the child was William Howe. 

In the baptismal record of that church there is but a single 
instance of a child having been baptized by that name, and 
that reads as follows : 

"William Howe, son of Daniel and Elizabeth Corsen, was 
born y e 24th of November, 1776, & was Baptised by mr 
Charlton 25th of Febreary, 1777." 

Thus, we think, we have discovered the name of the man 
who preferred G-eorge Washington's commission to that of 
King George, and this discovery is corroborated by the fact 
that the Corsen family, so far as we have been able to learn, 
were all consistent whigs. For the subsequent fate of Wil- 
liam Howe Corsen, see App. L, Corsen family. 



A party of three or four officers on horseback being over- 
taken by a shower, took advantage of the first shelter which 
presented itself, which happened to be a long shed attached 
to a barn. The owner of the place came out and offered to 
take care of their horses, if they would enter the house and 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 189 

wait until the shower had passed. The invitation was 
accepted ; in going into the house, they were led through the 
kitchen, where the good housewife was engaged with her 
churn. They paused for a moment to observe the process of 
making butter, and then passed on. After they had seated 
themselves, they inquired whether they could be furnished 
with something to eat. The man of the house replied in the 
affirmative, and said that his wife would attend to their wants 
as soon as she had finished churning. "If," said one of the 
officers, "that only prevents her from attending to our wants 
immediately, I'll do the churning for her while she prepares 
something for us;" so going into the kitchen, he good- 
humoredly informed her of the arrangement which he pro- 
posed to make, to which she, also good-humoredly, assented, 
but stood for a few moments to see how he managed matters. 
At length she exclaimed, ' ' Oh, sir, this will never do ; if you 
can't use your sword any better than you do the churn- 
dasher, you ain't much of a soldier; why, you are splashing 
all the milk out of the churn, and you will be a pretty look- 
ing object by the time you have finished ; here, let me pin 
this apron before you, then I'll show you how to do it." So 
saying, she fastened an apron upon him, to which he laugh- 
ingly submitted, then showed him how to use the dasher, and 
went to work preparing something for the party to eat. His 
companions occasionally would look at him and make some 
jocular remark, to which he would reply that he was creating 
an appetite. The good woman, too, would sometimes glance 
through the door at him, when she would exclaim, "Oh, oh, 
but he is an awkward man ; but if he keeps on long enough, 
he will fetch the butter." This remark of hers became a 
by-word among the officers of the army when anything re- 
quiring unremitted exertion was to be done, ' ' keep on long 
enough, and you'll fetch the butter," and continued to be 
used long after the origin of it had been forgotten. 

By the time they had finished their repast, the rain had 
ceased. As they were preparing to depart, the officer who 
had performed at the churn inquired of the woman how 



190 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

much they were to pay her. "Pay !" she exclaimed, "why, 
sir, we don' t keep a tavern ; we don' t take pay for such tri- 
fles ; you are, all of you, heartily welcome to what little I 
have done for you." No amount of urging could induce 
her to accept money from them, and they rode off, promis- 
ing that she should hear from them before long. In less than 
a week thereafter, a package containing the materials for a 
black silk dress for the lady of the house, was received, to- 
gether with -a brief note from Sir William Howe, requesting 
her to accept it as a remuneration for learning him how to 
churn. 

In one of the companies of infantry attached to the British 
army, was an Englishman who was very tall, standing a 
head above his fellows, and proportionately stout ; he was of 
a quarrelsome disposition, and frequently in trouble, and 
thoroughly disliked by his comrades. For some breach of 
military discipline, he was confined in the guard-house for 
several days, and fed on bread and water. To the confine- 
ment he made no very strenuous objection, but he protested, 
though in vain, against the fare allowed to him. When he 
was discharged, and permitted again to mingle with his fel- 
lows, he repeatedly expressed his intention of revenging 
himself upon his captain, on whose complaint he had been 
punished. The captain was informed of the threats made by 
the soldier, and warned to be on his guard. A few mornings 
after the release of the prisoner, while the company were be- 
ing drilled in firing blank cartridges, the captain became 
conscious that a bullet had passed his head within an inch or 
two, and buried itself in a tree just behind him. beneath 
which he stood. He suspected whence the bullet had come, 
but paying no attention to the matter, he maintained his 
calmness, and announced to the company that as the weather 
was very hot, there would be no further drill that morning, 
but on the following morning, at an early hour, it would be 
resumed ; each man was directed to furnish himself with three 
blank cartridges. The next morning at an early hour they 
were on the ground again, and their exercise began. When 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 191 

preparing for firing at the word "make ready," the cap- 
tain cried out, ' ' that was awkwardly done ; it must be re- 
peated — shoulder arms — make ready ; — a great deal bet- 
ter," said he, "take aim," — very badly done, that must be 
repeated, — shoulder arms." This was as far as he meant to go 
in that direction ; he had detected his enemy taking direct 
aim at him. He continued the drill in another direction, and 
caused every man to lay his musket down upon the grass in 
front of him, and take one step backward. 

One of the minor officers of the company, having been 
previously instructed, took his stand, sword in hand, direct- 
ly by the musket of the vindictive soldier. The captain then 
delegated two other officers to begin, one at each end of the 
company, and draw the charge out of each musket. The 
guilty soldier made an effort to seize his musket, but the 
sword of the officer standing in front of him was at his 
throat in a twinkling, and he was obliged to desist. The ex- 
amination resulted in finding every musket loaded with 
blank cartridges except the one belonging to the suspected 
individual — that was loaded with ball. He was immediately 
seized, his cartridge-box examined, and two more ball 
cartridges found therein. A court-martial was convened the 
same day, the prisoner tried on the charge of attempting to 
kill his captain, found guilty, and sentenced to be shot the 
day following, which was done by a file of soldiers detailed 
for the purpose, to the great relief of the captain, and not at 
all to the regret of his comrades. 



We have had occasion to allude to a gun-boat which was 
kept at the expense of the people of the county on the 
Sound, to prevent intercourse between the people of Staten 
Island and those of New Jersey. This boat, for a time at 
least, appears to have been under the direction of Col. Billop, 
and was an unpopular affair to the people on both sides of 
the water. It was an almost daily occurrence that those on 
board fired upon any person within their reach on the Jersey 
shores ; with what effect, however, is not known. A com- 



192 ATSHSTALS OF STATED ISLAND. 

pany of half dozen Jerseymen once attempted to get pos- 
session of the boat, but failed. It was lying at anchor one 
bright moonlight night under the shore of the Island, and as 
no person was seen moving on board, they supposed their 
opportunity had come. Accordingly, one of their number 
was sent in a small boat to row up some distance above the 
gun-boat, and then to drift silently down with the ebb tide, 
and, as he passed, to observe whether there was any person on 
her deck. He succeeded in accomplishing his purpose, but 
discovered a man sitting flat upon the deck, apparently en- 
gaged in strapping a knife upon his boot. When he reached 
the shore he made his report, and the enterprise was aban- 
doned for the time, nor do we know that it was ever after 
renewed. 



Though there were, in the royal army, both among the 
English and Hessians, a great many idle, dissolute and very 
wicked men, officers as well as privates, there were also 
among them many exemplary and industrious men, some of 
whom were mechanics and some agriculturists. An army 
doing garrison duty, has generally a good deal of idle time, 
which was employed by these men to their own profit and 
advantage. Shoemakers, for instance, frequently made boots 
and shoes for the officers and their families, when they had 
any, and for the citizens of the county ; and were permitted 
to take their surplus work to the city to sell to dealers, for 
all of which they were generally well paid. The government 
supplying all their personal wants, the money thus earned 
accumulated, until at the close of the war, many had large 
sums at their command. It was generally this class who 
contrived to stay behind, purchase land, or commence busi- 
ness on their own account, sometimes, it is said, under 
assumed names. Some of the agriculturists obtained per- 
mission from the neighboring farmers to clear and cultivate 
an acre or two of land which the owners, in many instances, 
had considered worthless, because it was overgrown with 
bushes and briars, and would cost more to clear, as they said, 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 193 

than it was worth. It was wonderful, indeed, to see the 
amount these industrious soldiers would raise on - a single 
acre — "more," said our venerable informant, "than I could 
raise from five." They suffered no thorns, hedges or briars 
to grow along their enclosures, remarking that where a 
useless plant would grow, a useful one would grow as well. 
Thus not only in this, but in many other instances, teaching 
the farmer' s lessons in economy and thrift, which they would 
have done well to imitate. 

It is, after all, a doubtful matter whether there were many 
of the people of Staten Island who were really tories from 
principle. The Seaman and Billop families, and two or three 
others not quite so prominent, were all beneficiaries of the 
British government ; they were the proprietors of large and 
valuable estates bestowed upon them for merely nominal con- 
sideration ; they were also the incumbents of lucrative offices 
which gave them a power and an influence which otherwise 
they would not have possessed. The British officers, both of 
the army and navy, were lavish of their gold, and the peo- 
ple of the Island, so far as money was concerned, were never 
in better circumstances. The temptation then to infringe 
the resolutions of the Provincial Congress, prohibiting all 
intercourse with the vessels of the enemy, were irresistible, 
more especially as the Congress was powerless to enforce its 
own ordinances, or to punish the infraction of them. But 
the local committees of the Province of New Jersey were 
not idle, neither were they blind. At times, when the demand 
exceeded the supply, the dealers on the Island were under the 
necessity of obtaining their articles from New Jersey, either 
personally, if they choose to run the hazard, or through 
agents, who sometimes contrived to smuggle them success- 
fully. There was, however, no lack of patriots on the Island 
who dared to strike a blow whenever it could be done with 
security. The following anecdote is an instance : — A man 
named Taylor — not of the Staten Island family of that name 
— came over from New York, aud took up his abode here for 
the avowed purpose of trading with the English vessels. ' He 



194 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

carried on the business for several months openly, and in de- 
fiance of all the cautions he had received by means of anony- 
mous letters, which he openly exhihited in public places, and 
held up to ridicule. He defied any power which the rebels 
possessed to prevent his doing as he pleased in the matter of 
trading with the ships. One very dark and stormy night, 
five men entered his dwelling unannounced ; they were all 
disguised, and while a part of them seized and bound him, 
the remainder performed the same service for his wife. With 
pistols at their heads, they were cautioned to make no outcry. 
Having secured Taylor, they led him to his own barn, put a 
noose around his neck with a pair of his own horse reins, 
threw the rope over one of the beams, and hoisted him from 
the floor by his neck ; then having fastened the rope to a 
post in the manger, left him and went their way. 

His wife hearing the men depart, apprehended something 
serious had occurred, and made most desperate efforts to 
loose the thongs which bound her, and finally succeeded. 
Fortunately a lighted lantern stood in an adjoining room, which 
she seized and ran into the barn, where she found her worst ap- 
prehensions realized by seeing her husband struggling in the 
agonies of death. Finding she could not untie the knot 
around the manger post, she found a hatchet with which she 
cut the rope and let him down upon the floor. Having re- 
moved the noose around his neck, and finding him insensible, 
she ran to a neighboring house for assistance, and at length 
succeeded in restoring him to consciousness. Two or three 
days afterwards Taylor removed back again to New York, but 
he was accompanied by a guard of soldiers all the way to 
the city. 

It was at some time between the cessation of actual hostili- 
ties and the evacuation of New York, Long and Staten 
Islands by the British, that the following incident is said to 
have occurred : There were many ships of war lying at anchor 
in various parts of the harbor, mostly in the vicinity of the 
city ; there were some, however, which laid in, and even be- 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 195 

yond the Narrows, and these were anchored near the shores 
of Long and Staten Islands, as could safely be done, for the 
convenience of easy access to the land in all conditions of the 
weather, in order that the officers might obtain supplies of 
butter, vegetables, &c, from the farms in the vicinity. One 
day, a boy, some seventeen or eighteen years of age, whose 
father was a relative of the narrator of the anecdote, was in 
search of some stray cattle in the woods near the water, and 
saw a ship's boat with two sailors approaching. Supposing 
he might as well keep out of their sight in that solitary place, 
he concealed himself behind a large tree ; he saw them land, 
and while one of them remained in charge of the boat, the 
other, with a basket in his hand, entered the wood. After 
having proceeded a few rods, until he was out of sight of his 
companion, and of everybody else, as he supposed, he took 
off his coat, knelt down at the foot of a large, gnarled tree, 
and, with an instrument resembling a mason's trowel, dug a 
hole in the earth, partly under a huge root, and having de- 
posited something therein, carefully filled the hole again with 
earth, and laid a large flat stone upon it. Having accom- 
plished his purpose, whatever it might have been, he rose to 
his feet, and took a long and careful survey of the surround- 
ings, then proceeded on his way. The youth kept in his 
place of concealment for two full hours, when he saw the 
sailor returning with his basket apparently filled with vege- 
tables ; he passed by the place where he had dug the hole, 
scrutinized it closely, and then proceeded to the boat, which 
was still in waiting for him, and returned to the ship. Assur- 
ing himself that the coast was clear, the young man went to 
the place, re-opened the hole, and found therein a heavy can- 
vas bag, evidently containing, as he judged by its sound, a 
quantity of money. Securing his prize, and without waiting 
to re-fill the hole, he hastened away, and found some other 
place of deposit, known only to himself. A day or two 
thereafter posters were put up in every public place, offering 
a large reward for the recovery of three hundred guineas, 
which had been stolen from one of his majesty's ships, being 



196 A15TTSTALS OF STATED ISLAND. 

the property of the government, and an additional reward for 
the detection of the thief, but the boy kept his own counsel. 
The theft occasioned a good deal of talk at the time, but it 
was soon forgotten in the excitement consequent upon the 
declaration of peace, and the preparations for the departure 
of the British from the country. For nearly four years the 
young man kept his own secret, at which time he had attained 
his majority ; and then, when he purchased a farm for him- 
self, and paid for it, did he first reveal, to his parents only, 
the manner in which he obtained his means. 



Sometime between the close of the Revolution and that of 
the century in which it occurred, a remarkable character 
made his appearance on the Island ; he was tall and lank, 
and had a complexion so dark that many believed him to be 
either half negro or half Indian. He appeared to be well ed- 
ucated, and was remarkably circumspect in his conduct and 
conversation. He professed to have once been in a trance, 
during which he had visited both heaven and hell, and had 
seen and heard things which he dared not repeat. While in 
heaven, he, with eleven others, all strangers to each other, 
were commissioned to return to the earth and preach the true 
and everlasting gospel to every creature, all over the world. 
The others, without doubt, were now fulfilling their mission, 
as he was his. He said he had traveled over the States of 
Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York, and was 
now closing his work on Staten Island, where he was predes- 
tined to die. It had been revealed to him that he was first to 
have a very narrow escape from death, and then in a very 
short time thereafter he should die suddenly. He professed 
to have a limited power to work miracles, but that power was 
confined to healing the diseases of those who had faith ; and 
it was said, he actually did cure some who professed to have 
unlimited faith in him. His method of cure was to place his 
hand on the patient and say, "according to your faith be it 
done unto you." If he failed in effecting a cure, he ascribed 
it to no want of power in himself, but to a want of faith in 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 197 

the patient. He denounced churches, and said they were the 
inventions of men who desired to go to heaven in an easy 
carriage drawn by angels over a road made of blossoms and 
perfumed flowers. He admitted there had been good people 
among them, for he had seen some of them in heaven. God, 
he said, had his temples, but he had built them Himself in 
the shape of trees, bowers and shady retreats. He preached 
repeatedly wherever he could find an umbrageous tree and 
an audience. He was very severe in his denunciations of 
personal pride, however manifested, and made humility in all 
its phases the principal virtue of his system, because, he said, 
without humility there could possibly be no religion. He 
never accepted any gifts which were offered, except food 
when he was hungry, or clothing when he required it. He 
accepted a night's lodging when it was offered, but if not, 
any place which afforded shelter and protection was sufficient. 
People regarded him as a sort of harmless lunatic, and he 
was never molested. One day, as he was passing a place 
where some men were felling trees, he stopped to see a very 
large tree fall, but as he stood too near, he was cautioned to 
stand back further ; he had moved but a step or two when the 
tree fell, apparently directly upon him, but to the surprise of 
all who saw it, he stood unhurt amid the branches, which in 
falling had passed on each side of him without touching him. 
" This," "said he, " is the great peril I had to encounter and 
escape ; now I shall die soon, and suddenly." The next day 
he was overtaken by a shower, and sought shelter in a barn, 
which was struck by lightning and he was killed, thus veri- 
fying his own prophecy. 



There are those still living who can remember the great 
panic which pervaded the Island somewhere about the year 
1820. Somebody had predicted the positive sinking of the 
Island on a certain day. There were hundreds of people 
whose apprehensions were excited, and the prophecy became 
the subject of universal conversation. Some sold their pro- 
perty, others removed from the Island, and when the day 



198 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

dawned, even those who had derided the prophecy were 
conscious of a choking sensation. There were many people 
who spent that entire day on the shores of New Jersey and 
Long Island, with their eyes fixed upon Staten Island, expect- 
ing momentarily to see it go down. There was one man, it was 
said, conveyed a boat to the highest point of the Island, and 
spent the day in it, that he might be ready to slide off wiien 
the catastrophe came. He conveyed his boat back again at 
night. When the day had passed, and the absentees began 
to return, not a solitary individual could be found who had 
ever given the least credence to the prophecy. 



Tradition says that thirty or thirty-five years before the 
war of the Eevolution began — that is to say, if the Declara- 
tion of Independence is assumed to be the beginning of that 
war — between 1741 and 1746, the agricultural community of 
Staten Island, which then probably embraced nine-tenths of 
the population, became terribly excited by the frequent and 
mysterious killing of their cattle. They were found dead in 
their pastures with their throats cut, in every instance close 
to their heads. At first it was ascribed to some enemy of the 
owner, who adopted this method of gratifying his vindictive 
inclinations, but it was at length discovered that in every 
case the animal's tongue had been cut out and taken away. 
Slight as it was, this appeared to be the sole motive of the 
perpetrator or perpetrators of these outrages. Three or four 
nights after the offence had been committed in one locality, 
it was repeated in another, miles away, and again, after 
another interval, in another place in quite a different direction. 
Three, four or five cattle were killed each night the perpetra- 
tors were abroad. Some farmers had their pastures watched 
every night ; others drove their cattle into inclosures during 
the night, near their dwellings ; the roads were patrolled dur- 
ing the darkness, but all these precautions were of little avail ; 
if an animal happened to be exposed, or a watchman, 
through weariness or any other cause, became temporarily 
remiss, the crime was repeated, and the criminal escaped. 
The people at length became desperate ; public meetings 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 199 

were held in the several towns, and rewards offered for the 
capture of the offenders, but none were captured. The slaves 
were suspected and closely watched, but no discoveries were 
made. 

At length a farmer residing near the locality known as the 
" Elm Tree," was aroused one night by the barking of his 
dogs in a distant part of his farm ; arousing his two sons, 
and two or three of his slaves, and arming them with guns 
and clubs, they hastened away in the direction of the still 
barking dogs, but observing the utmost silence. When they 
had reached the place where the dogs were, they were seen to be 
barking at something in a large tree in the edge of a piece of 
woods. • A consultation in a subdued tone was held ; some 
thought the dogs had driven a wild cat into the tree — others 
that it might be a bear — but the old man said that a wild ani- 
mal would have fought and torn the dogs, and perhaps killed 
one or both, and therefore he differed from them, but he said, 
' ' There may be a cat in that tree, but I think it is the cat that 
killed our cattle; we shall see in the morning." A close 
watch was kept around the foot of the tree during the re- 
mainder of the night, and when it became sufficiently light, a 
man was discovered sitting on one of the upper branches. 
Convinced that he had at length caught the slayer of the 
cattle on the Island, he hailed him and directed him to come 
down, but received no reply. The summons to descend was 
repeated several times without effect ; he sat immovable, 
crouched into as small a compass as possible, leaning upon the 
main trunk of the tree. The farmer was at a loss what to do ; 
he dared not fire, for he might kill him, while as yet he was 
only suspected ; at length he sent his negroes to notify two 
or three of his neighbors, and requested them to meet him, 
while he and his sons continued their guard over the prisoner. 
In less than an hour a dozen of the neighboring farmers were 
assembled under the tree, who all shared the farmer's sus- 
picions, until one of them, in endeavoring to obtain a better 
view of their prisoner, stumbled upon an object which at once 
verified their suspicions. This was an exceedingly dirty, 



200 ANNALS OF STATEJST ISLAND, 

blood-stained bag containing two or three fresh beef s tongues 
and a long sharp knife in a leather sheath. With such a 
formidable weapon in his possession, it was surprising that 
he had suffered the two dogs to drive him into the tree, unless 
in the suddenness of the attack he had dropped the bag, and 
either had not had time, or could not see, in the darkness, to 
recover it. There was now no diversity of opinion as to the 
character of the prisoner, though there Was as to the best 
method of disposing of him. It was at length decided that 
if he persisted in his refusal to reply to their questions, or to 
descend from the tree, to shoot him. This decision was 
about to be carried into effect, when the prisoner, seeing the 
gun pointed at him, threw up his hands and exclaimed. 
" Don't shoot, massa. and I'll come down." It was then for 
the first time discovered that he was a negro. Slowly he 
descended, apparently looking about him for an opportunity 
of eluding his captors, but the moment he was within reach, 
a dozen hands seized and held him securely until his arms 
were pinioned. He was a stranger to all of those who sur- 
rounded him, and to all their questions as to his name and 
residence, he maintained a dogged silence. Growing im- 
patient of the fellow's stubbornness, a noose was slipped over 
his head, and in a very brief space he was dangling to one of 
the limbs of the tree. It was never known who he was or 
where he resided, but there was an expression of satisfaction 
throughout the Island when the news of the capture and 
execution was heard. 



During the whole time of their occupancy of the Island, 
the British kept a lookout on some convenient elevation, for 
the arrival of vessels. At one time a sentinel was stationed 
in the top of " a large chestnut tree, which grew upon the 
summit of the Island, about a mile from a small wooden 
church which stood near the King's highway." This de- 
scription corresponds with some locality near the present 
residence of Mr. T. C. Bogart. There is a tradition confirma- 
tory of this statement, which says that the British kept a 
number of soldiers on the top of Toad Hill to guard the road 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 201 

and to keep a look-out over the land and water. From the 
locality indicated, this might have been done very easily, for 
it commands a view of the outer bay and Sandy Hook in one 
direction, and of the Kills, and New Jersey beyond, in the 
other. The sentinel in the tree was provided with a platform 
upon which to stand, and signals to elevate upon a pole 
lashed to the highest limb of the tree. This position was a 
perilous one in a heavy wind, and peculiarly so during a 
thunder storm. It is said that upon one occasion a soldier 
on duty in that elevated place was overtaken by a sudden 
storm of rain, thunder and lightning ; the ladder by which 
he had ascended was blown out of his reach, and he was unable 
to escape from the dangers which surrounded him. When 
the storm had passed away, his body was found upon the 
ground beneath the tree, with his neck broken, and certain 
livid marks upon his person, as well as the condition of the 
tree itself, indicated that he had been stricken with lightning^ 
and had fallen to the ground. About a month thereafter, 
another storm passed over the same locality, and the look-out 
descended from his elevation as quickly as possible, but he 
had no sooner reached the ground than the tree was again 
struck, and he was killed at his foot. After that the place of 
lookout was changed, and brought down the hill nearer the 
church, probably in the vicinity of the light-house. The 
following season the doomed tree was again struck, and riven 
to splinters. 



An aged man named Britton, residing in Southfield, with 
his wife and grand-daughter, a young lady about seventeen 
years of age, were seated before a bright fire on the hearth, 
one chilly autumn evening ; on a table stood a mug of cider, 
and in the fire was one end of a long iron rod, placed there to 
become heated, with which the old man was in the habit of 
"mulling" his cider, a beverage of which he was very fond, 
and of which he partook every evening before retiring. 
While thus waiting for the iron to become red-hot, the outer 
door of the room suddenly opened, and a huge Hessian 



202 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

soldier entered. After regarding the family group for a mo- 
ment, lie walked to the corner in which the young lady was 
sitting, and seated himself beside her. w 'Hey, missy," said 
he, attempting to put his arm around her waist, ' l how you 
like a big Dutchman for a husband, hey ? " " Gfo away, you 
Dutch brute," said she. "Oh, no," he answered, renewing 
his attempt at familiarity, "me not go away yet." "Gfo 
away," she repeated "or I shall hurt you." Laughing at 
this threat, as something extremely amusing, he persisted in 
annoying her by his insolence. Suddenly she stooped down, 
and seizing the iron rod, thrust the red-hot end of it into his 
face. He uttered a yell, and in the effort to spring up, fell 
over his chair ; she continued her assault upon him by push- 
ing the rod into any part of his person she could reach, and 
when he had regained his feet and made for the door, she 
continued to pursue him, even following him out of doors. 
He made repeated attempts to strike her, but her rod being 
longer than his arm, effectually prevented him from touching 
her. He also attempted to seize the rod, but it was too hot 
to hold, and every such effort only burned him the more. 
Foiled at every point, he turned and ran away. 



"D." 



GOVERNMENT. 



204 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 



The Government of New Netherland, under the original 
Dutch settlers, was committed to the Director and his Coun- 
cil, which at first consisted of five members. This Council 
had supreme executive and legislative authority in the whole 
colony. It had also the power to try all civil and criminal 
cases, and all prosecutions before it were conducted by a 
" Schout Fiscaal," whose duties were similar to those of a 
sheriff and district attorney of the present day. He had the 
power to arrest all persons, but not without a complaint 
previously made to him, unless he caught an offender in 
flagrante delictu. It was his duty to examine into the merits 
of every case, and lay them before the court, without favor 
to either party ; he was also to report to the Directors in 
Holland, the nature of every case prosecuted by him, and 
the judgment therein. In addition to the duties above 
enumerated, it devolved upon him to examine the papers of 
all vessels arriving or departing ; to superintend the lading 
and discharging of cargoes, and to prevent smuggling. He 
had a right to attend the meetings of the Council, and give 
his opinion when asked, but not to vote on any question. 

Several of the patroons claimed in a great measure to be 
independent of the Director and his Council, and organized 
courts and appointed magistrates for their own territories, as 
did the Patroons of Rensselaerwyck and Staten Island, but 
they were at constant variance with the authorities at New 
Amsterdam. 

It is true that all who felt themselves aggrieved by the 
judgment of the Director and his Council, had a chartered 
right to appeal to the XIX at home — that is, the West India 
Company — but the Directors of New Netherland generally 
played the despot during the brief terms of their authority, 
and if any suitor manifested an intention to appeal, he was 
at once charged with a contempt of the supreme power in 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 205 

the colony, and most severely punished, unless he contrived 
to keep out of the Directors reach, until his case had been 
heard and decided in Holland, as in the instance of Melyn, 
the patroon of Staten Island, who appears to have been a 
thorn in the sides of both Kieft and Stuyvesant. 

The religion recognized by the government of the province 
was that of the Reformed Dutch Church, or the Church of 
Holland, and though other sects were regarded with a cer- 
tain degree of suspicion, they were tolerated so long as they 
did not interfere with the privileges of others. 

When Stuyvesant was compelled by the popular clamor to 
surrender the country to the English, he stipulated for the 
preservation and continuance of all the political and religious 
rights and privileges of the people as then enjoyed, allegiance 
alone excepted, which was conceded by Mcolls. 

After the conquest, this stipulation was generally held in- 
violate, but the civil institutions of the country were modified 
to make them accord with English ideas of government. 

There are instances on record of persecution for opinion' s 
sake on religious subjects under the Dutch, but all such mat- 
ters were at once rectified when brought to the notice of the 
home government. This continued to be the practice of the 
English government also. 

From the date of the conquest to the arrival of Dongan as 
governor, the country had been governed by the "Duke's 
Laws,'* which prohibited the election of magistrates by the 
people, but in 1683 Dongan convened a general assembly, 
which modified some of these laws and abrogated others. 
Some of the important changes made by this assembly were 
the following : 

The supreme authority was to reside in the governor, 
council and people represented in general assembly. 

Assemblies were to be held at least triennially. 

Freeholders or freemen were to vote for members. 

The number of members were to be 21, or as many more as 
the Duke thought proper. Of these, Richmond was entitled 
to two. 



206 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

Bills passed were to be approved by the governor, with the 
concurrence of the Duke. 

No tax should be levied but by consent of the governor, 
council and representatives. 

Trials by a jury of twelve, and a grand jury authorized. 

All offences except treason and felony to be bailable. 

No man's land to be liable to sale under execution without 
his consent, but the profits and issues thereof to be liable for 
debt. 

Married women's rights in their husband's estate not to be 
sold without their consent. 

Widows to be entitled to thirds, as dower. 

Full religious liberty to all professing faith in G-od by Jesus 
Christ. 

A law was also passed creating the office of a sheriff for 
each county, and permitting him to have a deputy. 

The province was divided in 1683 into the following coun- 
ties : 1, New York ; 2, Westchester ; 3, Ulster ; 4, Albany, 
including Schenectady; 5, Duchess; 6, Orange; 7, Rich- 
mond ; 8, Kings ; 9, Queens ; 10, Suffolk ; 11, Duke's ; 12, 
Cornwall ; the two last named now form a part of Massachu- 
setts. 

In March, 1688, Richmond was divided into four towns — 
Castletown, Northfield, Southfield and Westfield. The town 
of Middletown was not organized until 1860. 

Before the legal division of the county into towns, it was 
divided into three precincts, the North, South and West : 
Castleton was not included in any of the precincts, but was 
designated "The Manor." The limits of the precincts were 
about the same as those of the towns as established by law 
on the 7th March, 1688. 

Castleton derived its name from the Palmer or Dongan 
patent, in which the manor conveyed was called Cassiltown, 
corrupted into the present name, and the corruption legalized 
by repeated Acts of the Legislature ; the other towns were 
named from their position in the county. 

When the county of Richmond was first organized, the 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 207 

county seat was fixed at Stony Brook, on the Amboy road, a 
short distance south of the Black Horse corner, and near the 
former site of the old Waldensian church. Tradition says 
that the county building consisted of a log cabin, containing 
two rooms, one for the residence of trie jailor, and one for a 
prison, in which prisoners remained as long as suited their 
convenience. 

The County seat was subsequently removed* to Cockles - 
town, which was the original name of the village of Richmond, 
then a mere hamlet of half a dozen small houses, and the 
name changed to that of the county. 

The courts organized under the English authority were as 
follows : 

1st. The Court of Chancery, consisting of the Governor and 
Council, to which appeals might be brought from any other 
court. 

2d. The Oyer and Terminer, held once each year in each 
county, and consisting of a Judge of the upper court, and 
three Justices of the Peace of the county. 

3d. In New York and Albany, the mayor and Aldermen 
held a court every fortnight, and from which there was no 
appeal except in cases where an amount over £20 was in- 
volved. 

4th. Courts of Sessions in every county twice each year, 
composed of the Justices of the Peace of the county. 

5th. Three Commissioners in every town to determine mat- 
ters of difference between parties not exceeding the value of 
£5. 

* Vide App. N. (43.) 



STATEN ISLAND 

200 YEARS AGO. 



210 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 



The following is an extract from a manuscript found in 
the city of Amsterdam, a few years ago, by Hon. H. C. Mur- 
phy, of Brooklyn. 

On the 8th of June, 1676, two Labadists, Jasper Bankers 
and Peter Sluyter, sailed from Amsterdam in a ship called 
the Charles, Capt. Thomas Singleton, and arrived at Sandy 
Hook on the 22d of September following. They say : 
' ' When we came between the Hoof den (the Highlands of 
Staten and Long Islands — that is, in the Narrows) — we saw 
some Indians on the beach with a canoe, and others coming 
down the hill. As we tacked about, we came close to the 
shore, and called out to them to come on board the ship. 
The Indians came on board, and we looked upon them with 
wonder. They are dull of comprehension, slow of speech, 
bashful, but otherwise bold of person and red of skin. They 
wear something in front over the thighs, and a piece of duf- 
fels, like a blanket, around the body, and that is all the 
clothing they have. Their hair hangs down from their head 
in strings, well smeared with fat, and sometimes with quan- 
tities of little beads twisted in it, out of pride. They have 
thick lips and thick noses, but not fallen in like the negroes, 
heavy eyebrows or eyelids, brown or black eyes, thick 
tongues, and all of them black hair. After they had ob- 
tained some biscuit, and had amused themselves a little 
climbing and looking here and there, they also received some 
brandy to taste, of which they drank excessively, and threw 
it up again. They then went ashore in their canoe, and we, 
having a better breeze, sailed ahead handsomely." After 
narrating how they landed in the city, and describing the bay 
and the immense quantities of fish therein, they proceed with 
their journal. 

" October 9l7i, Monday. — We remained at home two days, 
except I went out to ascertain whether there was any way of 
going over to Staten Island. 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 211 

10, Tuesday. — Finding no opportunity of going to Staten 
Island, we asked our old friend Symon, who had come over 
from Gouanes (Gowanus ?), what was the best way for us to go 
there, when he offered us his services to take us over in his 
skiff, which we accepted, and at dusk accompanied him in 
his boat to Gfouanes, where we arrived about 8 o' clock, and 
where he welcomed us and entertained us well. 

11, Wednesday . — We embarked early this morning in his 
boat, and rowed over to Staten Island, where we arrived 
about 8 o'clock. He left us there, and we went on our way. 
This Island is about 32 miles long, and four broad. Its sides 
are very irregular, with projecting points and indenting bays 
and creeks running deep into the country. It lies for the 
most part east and west, and is somewhat triangular ; the 
most prominent point is to the west. On the east side is the 
narrow passage which they call the channel, by which it is 
separated from the high point of Long Island. On the south 
is the great bay, which is enclosed by Nayag, t'Conijnen 
island, Rentselaer's Hook, Neversink, etc. On the west is 
the Raritans. On the north or north-west is New Jersey, from 
which it is separated by a large creek or arm of the river 
called Kil Van Kol. The eastern part is high and steep, and 
has few inhabitants. It is the usual place where ships ready 
for sea, stop to take in water.* The whole south side is a 
large plain, with much salt meadow or marsh, and several 
creeks. 

The west point is flat, and on or around it is a large creek 
with much marsh, but to the north of this creek it is high and 
hilly, and beyond that it begins to be more level, but not so 
low as on the other side, and is well populated. On the 
northwest it is well provided with creeks and marshes, and 
the land is generally better than on the south side, although 
there is a good parcel of land in the middle of the latter. As 
it is the middle or most hilly part of the Island, it is uninhab- 
ited, although the soil is better than the land around it ; but 

* Vide App. N.(45.) 



212 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

in consequence of its being away from the water, and lying 
so high, no one will live there, the creeks and rivers being so 
serviceable to them in enabling them to go to the city, and 
for fishing and catching oysters, and for being near the salt 
meadow. The woods are used for pasturing horses and cattle, 
for, being an island, none of them can get off. Each person 
has marks upon his own by which he can find them when he 
wants them. When the population shall increase, these 
places will be taken up. Game of all kinds is plenty, and 
twenty-five or thirty deer are sometimes seen in a herd. A 
boy who came in a house where we were, told us he had shot 
ten the last winter himself, and more than forty in his life, 
and in the same manner other game. We tasted here the 
best grapes. There are now about 100 families on the Island, 
of which the English constitute the least portion, and the 
Dutch and French divide between them about equally the 
greater portion. They have neither church nor minister, and 
live rather far from each other, and inconveniently to meet 
together. The English are less disposed to religion, and 
inquire little after it ; but in case there was a minister, would 
contribute to his support. The French and Dutch are very 
desirous and eager for one, for they spoke of it wherever we 
went. The French are good Reformed church -men, and some 
of them are Walloons. The Dutch are also from different 
quarters. We reached the Island, as I have said, about 
9 o'clock, directly opposite Gouanes, not far from the watering- 
place. We proceeded southwardly along the shore of the 
highland on the east end, where it was sometimes stony and 
rocky, and sometimes sandy, supplied with fine constantly 
flowing springs, with which at times we quenched our thirst. 
We had now come nearly to the furthest point on the 
southeast, behind which I had observed several houses when 
we came in with the ship. We had also made inquiry as to 
the villages through which we would have to pass, and they 
told us the " Oude Dorp " * would be the first one we would 
come to ; but my comrade .finding the point very rocky and 

* Vide App. N. (46.) 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 213 

difficult, and believing the village was inland, and as we 
discovered no path to follow, we determined to clamber to the 
top of this steep bluff, through the bushes and thickets, which 
we accomplished with great difficulty and in a perspiration. 
We found as little of a road above as below, and nothing but 
woods, through which no one could see. There appeared to 
be a little foot-path along the edge, which I followed a short 
distance to the side of the point, but my companion calling 
me, and saying that he thought we had certainly passed by 
the road to the Oude Dorp, and observing myself that the 
little path led down to the point, I returned again, and we 
followed it the other way, which led us back to the place 
from where we started. We supposed we ought to go from 
the shore to find the road to the Oude Drop, and seeing here 
these slight tracks into the woods, we followed them as far as 
we could, till at last they ran to nothing else than dry leaves. 
Having wandered an hour or more in the woods, now in a 
hollow and then over a hill, at one time through a swamp, at 
another across a brook, without finding any road or path, we 
entirely lost the way. We could see nothing but the sky 
through the thick branches of the trees over our heads, and-we 
thought it best to break out of the woods entirely and regain 
the shore. I had taken an observation of the shore and point, 
having been able to look at the sun, which shone extraordi- 
narily hot in the thick woods, without the least breath of air 
stirring. We made our way at last, as well as we could, out 
of the woods, and struck the shore a quarter of an hour's 
distance from where we began to climb up. We were rejoiced, 
as there was a house not far from the place where we came 
out. We went to it to see if we could find any one who 
would show us the way a little. There was no master in it, 
but an English woman with negroes and servants. We first 
asked her as to the road, and then for something to drink, 
. and also for some one to show us the road, but she refused 
the last, although we were willing to pay for it ; she was a 
cross woman. She said she had never been at the village, and 
her folks must work, and we would certainly have to go away 
as wise as we came. She said, however, we must follow the 



214 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

shore, as we did. We went now over the rocky point, which 
we were no sooner over than we saw a pretty little sand bay, 
and a small creek, and not far from there, cattle and houses. 
We also saw the point from which the little path led from the 
hill above, where I was when my comrade called me. We 
would not have had more than three hundred steps to go to 
have been where we now were. It was very hot, and we per- 
spired a great deal. We went on to the little creek to sit 
down and rest ourselves there, and to cool our feet, and 
then proceeded to the houses which constituted the Oude 
Dorp. It was now about two o'clock. There were seven 
houses, but only three in which anybody lived. The others 
were abandoned, and their owners gone to live on better places 
on the Island, because the ground around this village was 
worn out and barren, and also too limited for their use. We 
went into the first house, which was inhabited by English, 
and there rested ourselves and eat, and inquired further after 
the road ; the woman was cross, and her husband not much 
better. We had to pay here for what we eat, which we have 
not done before. We paid three guilders in seewan, although 
we only drank water. We proceeded by a tolerably good 
road to Nieuwe Dorp, but as the road ran continually in the 
woods we got astray again in them. It was dark, and we were 
compelled to break our way out through the woods and 
thickets, and we went a great distance before we succeeded, 
when it was almost entirely dark. We saw a house at a dis- 
tance to which we directed ourselves across the bushes ; it was 
the first house of the Nieuwe Dorp. We found there an 
Englishman who could speak Dutch, and who received us very 
cordially into his house, where we had as good as he and his 
wife had. She was a Dutch woman from the Manhatans, 
who was glad to have us in her house. 

12th, Thursday. — Although we had not slept well, we had 
to resume our journey with the day. The man where we 
slept set us on the road. We had no more villages to go to, 
but went from one plantation to another, for the most part 
belonging to French, who showed us every kindness because 
we conversed with them in French. 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 215 

About one-third of the distance from the south side to the 
west end is still all woods, and is very little visited. We had 
to go along the shore, finding sometimes fine creeks well pro- 
vided with wild turkeys, geese, snipes and wood- hens. Ly- 
ing rotting on the shore were thousands of fish called mars- 
baucken, which are about the size of a common carp. These 
fish swim close together in large schools, and are pursued by 
other fish so that they are forced upon the shore in order to 
avoid the mouths of their enemies, and when the water falls, 
they are left to die, food for the eagles and other birds of 
prey. Proceeding thus along, we came to the west point, 
where an Englishman lived alone, some distance from the 
road. We ate something here, and he gave us the consola- 
tion that we would have a very bad road for two or three hours 
ahead, which indeed we experienced, for there was neither 
path nor road. He showed us as well as he could. There 
was a large creek to cross which ran very far into the land, 
and when we got on the other side of it we must, he said, go 
outward along the shore. After we had gone a piece of the 
way through the woods, we came to a valley with a brook 
running through it, which we took to be the creek, or the end 
of it. We turned around it as short as we could, in order to 
go back again to the shore, which we reached after wander- 
ing a long time over hill and dale, when we saw the creek, 
which we supposed we had crossed, now just before us. We 
followed the side of it deep into the woods, and when we ar- 
rived at the end of it saw no path along the other side to get 
outwards again, but the road ran into the woods in order to 
cut off a point of the hills and land. We pursued this road 
for some time, but saw no mode of getting out, and that it led 
further and further from the creek. We therefore left the 
road, and went across through the bushes, so as to reach the 
shore by the nearest route according to our calculation. 
After continuing this course about an hour, we saw at a dis- 
tance a miserably constructed tabernacle of pieces of wood 
covered with brush, all open in front, and where we thought 
there were Indians, but on coming up to it we found in it an 
Englishman sick, and his wife and child lying upon some 



216 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

bushes by a little fire. We asked him if he was sick? "I 
have been sick over two months," he replied. It made my 
heart sore, indeed, for I never, in all my life, saw such pov- 
erty, and that, too, in the middle of the woods and wilderness. 
After we had obtained some information as to the way, we 
went on, and had not gone far before we came to another 
house, and thus from one farm to another, French, Dutch, and 
a few English, so that we had not wandered very far out of 
the way. We inquired, at each house, the way to the next 
one. Shortly before evening we arrived at the plantation of 
a Frenchman, whom they called La Chaudrounier, who was 
formerly a soldier under the Prince of Orange, and had served 
in Brazil. He was so delighted, and held on to us so hard, 
that we remained and spent the night with him. 

!St7i, Friday. — We pursued our journey this morning 
from plantation to plantation, the same as yesterday, until 
we came to that of Pierre Gardinier, who had been in the ser- 
vice of the Prince of Orange, and had known him well. He 
had a large family of children and grand-children. He was 
about seventy years of age, and was still as fresh and active 
as a young person. He was so glad to see strangers who 
conversed with him in the French language, that he leaped 
with joy. After we had breakfasted here, they told us that 
we had another large creek to pass called the Fresh Kill, and 
then we could perhaps be set across the Kill Van Koll to the 
point of Mill Creek, where we might wait for a boat to con- 
vey us to the Manhatans. The road was long and difficult, 
and we asked for a guide, but he had no one, in consequence 
of several of his children being sick. At last he determined 
to go himself, and accordingly carried us in his canoe over to 
the point of Mill Creek in New Jersey, behind Kol, (Achter 
Kol.) We learned immediately that there was a boat upon 
this creek loading with brick, and would leave that night for 
the city. After we had thanked and parted with Pierre le 
Gardinier, we determined to walk to Elizabethtown, a good 
half hour's distance inland, where the boat was. We slept 
there this night, and at 3 o'clock in the morning set sail." 



" F." 



VILLAGES. 



218 ANNALS OF STATED ISLAND. 



VILLAGE OF NEW BRIGHTON. 

This village was incorporated by act of the Legislature, April 
26th, 1866, and embraced the northerly half of the town of 
Castleton. It was about two and a half miles long in a 
straight line, and about one mile in width. This territory was 
divided into four wards, and the trustees appointed by the 
same act to carry its provisions into effect, were Augustus 
Prentice, 1st ward ; James W. Simonton, 2d ward; Francis 
G. Shaw, 3d ward ; and Willliam H. J. Bodine, 4th ward. 
The portion of the town remaining unincorporated was very 
sparsely populated, but was obliged, nevertheless, to have a 
full corps of town officers, some of whom resided within the 
village, and exercised their offices without, as well as within, 
and the duties of some, such as the commissioners of high- 
ways, which office had been abolished within the village, 
could be performed only in the unincorporated remnant of 
the town. The bills rendered by these officers for their services 
at the end of each year were so enormous, that the taxes out- 
side of the village were greater than those within. The only 
method the people could resort to for ridding themselves of 
this burden, was to seek admission into the corporation, which 
they did, and in 1872 the remainder of the town was added 
to the village, and divided into two wards, the 5th and 6th. 
The dimensions of the village now are, length about 4 miles, 
breadth about 2. 

In 1871, a large and elegant village hall was erected on 
Lafayette Avenue, corner of Second Street, at a cost of about 
$36,000, including the land. 

The village contains eleven churches, viz : 

In the 1st ward the Reformed Church, corner of Tompkins 
Avenue and Fort Street. 

St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church, between Carroll Place 
and St. Mark's Place. 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 219 

In the 2d ward, Christ Church, Episcopal, on Franklin 
Avenue, corner of Second Street. 

Church of the Redeemer, Unitarian, on Clinton Avenue, 
corner of Second Street. 

The Snug Harbor Church. 

In the 3d ward, St. Mary's Church, Episcopal, onCastleton 
Avenue, corner of Davis Avenue. 

Calvary Church, Presbyterian, Bement Avenue, corner of 
Castleton Avenue. 

In the 4th ward, Church of the Ascension, Episcopal, on 
Richmond Terrace, or Shore Road. 

Trinity Church, Methodist, on Richmond Terrace, or Shore 
Road. 

Church of St. Rose of Lima, Roman Catholic, on Castleton 
Avenue, corner of Roe Street. 

In the 5th ward a Moravian Chapel on Richmond Turnpike,. 
Four Corners. 

In addition to the above, the Young Men's Christian Asso- 
ciation building, known as Association Hall, on the Shore 
Road, 4th ward, is used for religious purposes every Sabbath 
day, and several times through the week. 

There are four public schools in the village, viz : 

One on Madison Avenue, 1st ward. One on Prospect Av- 
enue, 2d ward. One on Elizabeth Street, 4th ward, and one 
on the Manor Road, near Four Corners, 6th ward ; there are 
also two or three excellent private schools. 

The charitable and benevolent institutions in the village 
are : The Sailors' Snug Harbor, and the Home for Destitute 
Children of Seamen, which are noticed elsewhere. 

The Shore Rail Road — cars drawn by horses — begins at the 
steamboat landing, foot of Arietta Street, and runs through 
Arietta Street, Richmond Turnpike, Brook and Jersey Streets, 
to the Terrace, and thence along the Terrace to the Mill Road, 
near the line of the village of Port Richmond, a distance of 
nearly four miles. The road is admirably conducted, and is 
considered a great public accommodation. 

There are three steam ferries connecting the village with 



220 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

New York city — one from the foot of Arietta Street, on the 
east side of the Island, and two on the north side, each of 
which stop at the West New Brighton, Snug Harbor and New 
Brighton wharves, and make from eight to twelve trips per 
day to New York, according to the season. 

Of the industrial establishments in the village, the New 
York Dyeing and Printing Establishment, on Broadway, in 
the 4th ward, and the Staten Island Fancy Dyeing Establish- 
ment, on Cherry Lane, in the 6th ward, are the principal, and 
are described more at length elsewhere. Beside these, there 
are manufactories of paper hangings, carriages, silk dyeing, 
&c. 

There are two weekly newspapers printed in the village. 



VILLAGE OF FORT RICHMOND. 

This village was incorporated by act of the Legislature 
April 24th, 1866, and is situated in the town of Northfield. 
Its length on its southern boundary, which is nearly a straight 
line, is about a mile and a half ; its greatest width is about 
three-fourths of a mile. It is not divided into wards, like the 
other incorporated villages in the county, but into East and 
West Port Richmond by the Morning Star Road ; three of its 
five trustees must reside in the former, and two in the latter. 
Its first trustees were George W. Jewett, Nicholas Van Pelt, 
William A. Ross, Garret P. Wright and Henry Miller, all of 
whom were repeatedly re-elected by the people, and some of 
whom are still members of the board ; trustee Yan Pelt was 
the first president, and has continued to perform the duties of 
that office without intermission until the present time (1876.) 

There are five churches in the village, viz : 

The Reformed Church, on Richmond Street, or Church 
Road. 

St. John's German Lutheran Church, on Division Avenue, 
corner of Catharine Street. 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 221 

Gfrace Methodist Episcopal Church, on Heberton Street, 
corner of Bond. 

Park Baptist Church, on Broadway, corner of Vreeland 
Street, and 

Baptist Church, on Union Avenue, near the western ex- 
tremity of the village. 

Summerfield Methodist Episcopal Church, on the Harbor 
Road, is but a few feet outside of the boundaries of the 
village. 

There is but one public school within the limits of the 
village, which is situated on Heberton Street, corner of 
Elizabeth. 

There is another public school a few feet outside of the 
village limits, near the southwest corner. 

St. John's Lutheran Church has a parochial school on 
Catharine Street. 

There are two steam ferries connecting the village with 
New York — the North Shore and the Peoples' ferries — both 
of which touch at the Elm Park and Port Richmond Land- 
ings. 

Of the industrial establishments, the White Lead Manu- 
factory of John Jewett and Sons, and the Linseed oil factory 
of -Jewett & Dean, are the principal, and are noticed elsewhere. 

In addition to these, are several ship-yards, the principal 
of which is that of William Lissenden. A. century ago this 
place was known as Ryer' s Ferry ; on a change of owners of 
the ferry, it was called Mersereau' s Ferry ; there was also 
another Ferry in the vicinity of the former, known as Hil- 
leker' s Ferry, the wharf of which was next east of Jewett' s 
White Lead Factory, where the remains of it may still be 
seen. Subsequently the place was called Cityville, and then 
Bristol ; the paternity of the present name is due to Rev. Dr. 
Brownlee, at whose suggestion it was adopted, and it has now 
become permanently fixed. 

While this work was going through the press, it was sug- 
gested to the author, that his description of the Village of 
Port Richmond would hardly be complete without some ref- 



222 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

erence to the Centennial Celebration of the nation' s natal day, 
especially as it was the only celebration on the Island. The 
celebration took place under the shade of the beautiful trees 
which overarch that splendid thoroughfare known as Heberton 
Street. The services consisted of an opening address by 
Ex-District Attorney S. F. Rawson, who presided. The Rev. 
Dr. Brownlee offered the opening prayer. The Rev. J. T. 
Bush read the Declaration of Independence. The author of 
these "Annals" then read an historical address relating to 
the Village of Port Richmond and the Town of Northfield. 
He was succeeded by the Hon. G-eorge William Curtis, who 
delivered an eloquent, patriotic address, which was univer- 
sally admired and applauded. The closing prayer and bene- 
diction was pronounced by the Rev. S. G. Smith, of the 
Park Baptist Church. The services were interspersed with 
vocal and instrumental music. It was, on the whole, the 
most creditable and patriotic celebration that ever took place 
on the Island. 



VILLAGE OF EDGEWATER. 

This village was originally incorporated in 1866, and by 
its charter divided into nine wards, but some legal defect 
having been detected in it, a new charter was enacted the 
following year. The names of the first trustees under the 
new charter are as follows : 

1st Ward — William C. Denyse. 



2d 


' David Burgher. 


3d 


' George Bechtel. 


4th " 


Theodore Frean. 


5th " 


Dr. Thomas C. Moffa 


6th " 


James R. Robinson. 


7th " 


Alfred Wandell. 


8th " 


Dennis Keeley. 


9th " 


J. Duignan. 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 



223 



Theodore Frean, President ; Henry F. Standerwick, Clerk ; 
Thomas Garrett, Police Justice. 

For a number of years the government of the village was 
injudiciously conducted, causing much dissatisfaction among 
the people, and the idea of abandoning the charter and re- 
turning to the original town government as it existed before 
the passage of the first act of incorporation, began to be 
entertained by a large number of citizens. 

In 1875 another attempt at local government was made by 
an amended charter containing several important changes 
and modifications. The village was divided into only two 
wards, with one trustee each, and a trustee at large, to be 
elected by the whole village, who was to be the president of 
the village. The board elected under the amended charter 
consisted of William Corry, trustee at large, and president ; 
Benjamin Brown, trustee of the 1st ward, Fellowes, 

trustee of the 2d ward ; Henry F. Standerwick, clerk. 

The churches within the corporate limits of the village are — 

Old St. Paul's, Episcopal, minister vacant. 

St. Paul's, Memorial, Episcopal, minister Stanley. 

St. John's, " 

St. Simon's, Mission. " 

First Presbyterian, 

German Lutheran, 



Kingsby Methodist Ep. 
African Zion, " " 
St. Mary's, Rom. Cath. 



J. C. Eccleston, D. D. 
J . E. Rockwell, D. D. 
H. M. Simpson. 



John Lewis. 



"G." 



NOTED LOCALITIES. 



226 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 



TOAD HILL. 

Geographically, this eminence, or succession of eminences, 
commences at New Brighton, and runs southerly and south- 
westerly until it terminates somewhat abruptly on the north- 
erly side of the Fresh Kills, beyond Richmond Village. 
The Clove divides the ridge into two nearly equal parts, and 
it is to that part which lies between the Clove and the Mora- 
vian Church that the name is usually applied. The whole 
elevation abounds in minerals of various kinds, the most 
abundant, as well as most valuable of which is iron ore, 
which exists in immense masses, and is generally of a 
superior quality. Several of these iron mines have been 
extensively worked, and that lying nearest the Moravian 
Church was known and worked by the early Dutch settlers 
of the colony. The hill affords numerous splendid sites for 
dwellings, unsurpassed for extent and variety of prospect, as 
well as salubrity, by any in the country ; some of these have 
been improved by the erection of tasteful and ornate villas, 
but many more yet remain to be occupied. In the beginning 
of the present century, when availability for cultivation, and 
not beauty of prospect, was the principal consideration in the 
purchase of land, the whole hill, from the Clove to the 
Moravian Church, could have been bought for less than one 
thousand dollars, as the soil, except in the valleys between 
the ridges, was considered almost valueless for the purposes 
of agriculture ; half a century later, after the beauties of the 
location had become well known and appreciated, a single 
acre could not have been purchased for that sum, in many 
places. The origin of the uncouth name of the hill has been 
a subject of some speculation. The earliest reference to it in 
any existing document, is in the patent from Dongan to 
Palmer, in which it is called "the iron hill," and in other 
ancient conveyances of later dates, it is referred to by the 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 227 

same name.* It has been said that the name is not "Toad," 
but "Todt," from a person by that name who owned land 
upon it, but unfortunately for this theory, there is no evidence 
that there was ever an individual of that name on the Island, 
und certainly none that such a man was ever a land-owner in 
any part of the county. 

An old man recently deceased, at almost the age of a cen- 
tenarian, who had resided all his life either upon the hill or 
in its immediate vicinity, informed the writer that it was 
called "Toad Hill" before his time, and that he always 
understood it received its name from the following somewhat 
ludicrous circumstance. Before the war of the Revolution, 
how long he knew not, there was a young lady residing upon 
the hill, who was so fortunate as to have two suitors at the 
same time. As was quite natural under such circumstances, 
she had her preference, and the unfortunate wight who did 
not meet her approbation received a significant hint that his 
absence would be agreeable to her, by having a couple of 
large toads dropped into his capacious pocket by her own 
fair hands without his knowledge. On the next Sunda}^ 
evening, as he was dressing for the purpose of making her 
another visit, he discovered that his Sunday coat emitted a 
perfume not agreeable to his olfactories. A close examina- 
tion revealed the cause ; the hint was understood, and his 
visits ceased. By some means the story became known, and 
his young acquaintances frequently taunted him by inquiring 
when he intended to go to toad hill again, or how the people 
on toad hill were. Thus the name which originated in a jest, 
became fixed upon the locality. 

Another hypothesis is that during one of the Indian mas- 
sacres, probably that of 1655, some of the inhabitants who 
had fled to this locality for concealment, were discovered and 
killed, and the hill in consequence became known as " doode- 
bergh," or hill of the dead, which in time was corrupted 
into its present name. But it is never referred to in any of 
the old records by any other name than " the iron hill." 

* Vide App. N. (44.) 



228 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 



WATCHOGUE. 



Between Old Place and Chelsea, bordering on Staten Island 
Sound, is a level, sandy territory, sparsely populated, and, 
where not cultivated, is covered with a stunted growth of 
pines and. cedars, though the low wet lands in some places 
bear a growth of larger trees of other varieties. The name 
of this territory is of Indian origin, but the meaning of the 
word has been lost. Indian names of places were usually 
significant of something peculiarly applicable to the locality, 
and as everything about the place has been changed since 
their day except the musquitoes, the name probably had 
some reference to these insects. It cannot be denied that 
this place is more than ordinarily infested with them, but this 
is owing more to its proximity to the extensive and prolific 
nurseries of them on the Jersey shores, than to any local 
cause. Nevertheless, the people of Watchogue appear to 
be almost as indifferent to their presence as if they were abso- 
lutely musquito -proof. Almost every place has some draw- 
back, and, except this, Watchogue is rather a pleasant place 
for one who loves to cultivate strawberries, melons and sweet 
potatoes ; these articles are produced here in great perfection. 
A rather pedantic attempt has of late years been made to 
Anglicise the Indian name by calling the place "Watch- 
Oak," which, as it is meaningless and inapplicable, no known 
event in its local history warranting the innovation, the name 
will not adhere. Perhaps the more recent name of "Bloom- 
field" which it has received, may be more fortunate. 
Watchogue, being so near "the lines" during the war of the 
Revolution, and being much more sparsely populated then 
than at present, had, no doubt, its local histories and tradi- 
tions, but as the people of that period have all passed away, 
the histories and traditions have passed away with them. 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 229 



THE ROSE AND CROWN. 

Lossing, in his very valuable contribution to American his- 
tory, "The Field Book of the Revolution,"* says: "The 
main body of Howe's troops landed near the present (late) 
quarantine ground, and encamped upon the hills in the 
vicinity. The fleet had anchored off Vanderventer' s (Van- 
deventer's) point, (the telegraph station at the Narrows), and 
three ships-of-war and some transports brought the English 
troops within the Narrows to the landing-place. Howe made 
his headquarters at the Rose and Crown Tavern, upon the 
road leading from Stapleton to Richmond, near New Dorp. 
The house is near the forks of the Richmond and Amboy 
roads, and overlooks the beautiful level country between it 
and the sea, two miles distant. It is now (1852) the property 
of Mr. Leonard Parkinson, of Old Town, Staten Island. The 
house was built by a Huguenot, one of the first settlers upon 
that part of the Island." 

We regret to add that since the above was written, the 
house has been demolished. It stood on the westerly side 
of the road, almost directly opposite the entrance to New 
Dorp lane. It was built of stone, and was but one story in 
height, having several dormer windows in the roof. It had a 
ha]l through the middle, with rooms on either side of it ; a 
low stone kitchen was attached to its southerly end, and the 
whole shaded by an immense tree in front. Howe himself, 
and a part of his staff, were quartered in this house, the re- 
mainder taking up their residence in the house, still standing, 
and known then, as now, as the "Black Horse" Tavern. 
After the battle of Long Island, and the capture of New 
York, Howe removed his headquarters to that city, and 
Dalrymple, who was left temporarily in charge of the Island, 
occupied the apartments vacated by his commander-in-chief. 
The venerable Mr. Isaac Housman, who for many years 
owned and occupied the Black Horse property, and where he 

* Vol II, p. 800, note. 



230 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

died, informed the writer, that on several occasions, aged 
British officers from Canada, who had served on the Island 
during the Revolution, accompanied by their sons, or some 
other young companions, revisited these scenes of their early 
life, and so little change had taken place in the vicinity of 
these two taverns, that they readily recognized the particular 
localities where the events which were still fresh in their 
memories, had taken place. On one of these occasions, an 
aged soldier, pointing to a rock by the side of the road, said 
to his companion, "This is the identical rock upon which Cap- 
tain was seated by his seconds, after his duel with 

Captain , in which he was mortally wounded, and 

upon which he expired while they were waiting for the con- 
veyance which had been sent for." "Here Col. , while 

riding rapidly, was thrown violently to the ground by hi& 
horse stumbling, and broke his neck. They were, he said, 
both buried in a little cemetery in Richmond, and he thought 
he could place his feet upon their graves, for they were buried 
by the side of each other. He even pointed to a window in a 
neighboring house, which lighted the room he had occupied 
for a period of several months. 

If the history of these two houses could be written, it 
would abound with narratives of intense interest. 

They received their names from the emblems, or picture- 
upon their respective signs ; that of the Black Horse was still 
swinging thirty years ago, but the horse had ceased to be 
black ; it much more resembled the ghost of an old gray nag, 
afflicted with the rheumatism. 



THE BULL'S HEAD. 

This is at the intersection of the Richmond Turnpike and 
the road leading from Port Richmond to New Springville. 
The sign which swung between two high posts in front of the 
small low tavern which stood on the northeast corner, gave 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 231 

name to the locality. Some rustic artist had evidently ex- 
hausted all his talents and resources in transmitting to pos- 
terity the picture of a very fierce looking bull' s head, with 
very short horns and very round eyes, which looked very 
much like a pair of spectacles. Long before, and during the 
Revolution, the locality was known by the name of " London 
Bridge," but why, is not so clear, unless the bridge over the 
little stream in the vicinity had some connection with it. 
After the war, and the erection of the new sign, the tavern 
became somewhat noted as a place of rendezvous for such 
young men, and probably old ones, too, as had a propensity 
for gambling. Some fearful stories were sometimes told of 
the place and its frequenters ; especially of one of them, who 
was a mysterious character, whom everybody desired to 
avoid, but who would not be avoided. Sometimes he ap- 
peared as a man of exceedingly dark complexion, but with 
fiery eyes ; that he had a hoof and a tail, nobody doubted, 
though nobody had actually seen them. Sometimes he would 
present himself in the shape of a huge black dog, or other 
forms as his fancy dictated, but he always remained until the 
party broke up, and then accompanied some one of them on 
the way home, never speaking by the way, because no one 
dared to address him, and all attempts to escape from him 
by speed proved utterly ineffectual. At length, so great be- 
came the terror which his frequent visits inspired, that the 
house was entirely forsaken by those who had patronized it, 
and then the mysterious visitor forsook it, too. We allude 
to these stories because they were once inseparably connected 
with the place, and half a century ago implicitly credited by 
people generally. Within a few years the locality has been 
visited by conflagrations, which consumed the houses on three 
of the corners, the fourth corner being vacant, and now the 
people who reside there, or some of them, endeavor to call it 
Phoenixville, because these houses, perhaps, will some day 
arise from their ashes. 



232 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 



THE CLOVE. 



The name of this locality is of Dutch origin ; "het kloven," 
— the cleft ; — the hill being here cleft through. As the early 
settlements on the north and south sides of the Island in- 
creased, intercourse between them gradually became a neces- 
sity, especially as many on the south side worshipped in the 
Dutch church at Port Richmond, and there was no available 
place, but this, where a road could be laid. Long before the 
Clove road was surveyed and recorded, it was used as a public 
highway, and is one of the earliest roads in the county ; 
nature appears to have made it for the purpose. The follow- 
ing accident occurred here in the latter part of the last cen- 
tury. A fool-hardy young man undertook, on a wager, to 
ride down the high, bald hill on the southerly side of the 
Clove, on a sled, the surface of the snow which covered the 
ground being a thick hard crust of ice. He descended the 
hill like lightning, but losing control of his vehicle, he was 
dashed against a tree near the base of the hill and instantly 
killed. During the war of the Revolution, it is said, the 
British kept guards constantly traversing this valley, by day 
and by night, and none were permitted to pass through with- 
out the countersign. 

THE FINGER-BOARD ROAD. 

The road which connects with the Richmond road next 
south of the Clove road, is known to this day by the above 
name, which it received from a guide-board and post, stand- 
ing at its entrance, directing the stranger which road to take 
to Richmond. A robbery and murder was once committed 
on a small elevation over which the road passes, and which 
from that circumstance received the name of "Roguery 
Hill," and the road became known as the "Roguery Hill 
Road," until the guide-post, above mentioned, gave it the 
name it still bears. 



ANJSTALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 233 

HOLLAND'S HOOK. 

This locality occupies the extreme northwest point of 
Staten Island. Its name is derived from the fact that the 
place was first settled by several families from Holland, and 
was, in consequence, originally called "Holland's Hook," 
the word Hook, or Hock, signifying a point or corner. The 
descendants of many of these families still reside there. 

It has been said that the place was named from Hon. Henry 
Holland, for several years a member of the Colonial Legisla- 
ture from this county, and an ardent friend of St. Andrew' s 
Church ; but Henry Holland never resided there, nor ever 
owned any real estate there, his property being entirely on 
the south side of the Island, in the vicinity of the Black 
Horse ; in fact, as may be seen by some old conveyances, the 
place was so called long before Holland's name was in any 
way connected with the Island, and probably before he was 
born ; on some of the recent maps of the county, this locality 
is known as "Howland's Hook," which is a corruption of 
the original name, and the result of ignorance of its origin. 
It is said that the use of the Dutch language continued here 
long after it had ceased to be used in other parts of the 
county. 



THE MORNING STAR— THE BLAZING STARS. 

These were taverns, from which ferries were run across to 
New Jersey. They were so called from the emblems or 
figures on their signs. The former had a star, but how it was 
represented to enable it to be distinguished from the evening 
star, we are unable to say ; the road which led to it is still 
familiarly known by that name. Of the latter, there were two, 
the Old Blazing Star, and the New Blazing Star. These stars 
were comets. The Old Blazing Star ferry ran across the 
Sound near Rossville, and was a very important locality dar- 



284 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

ing the Revolution. After Governor Tompkins had laid out 
and opened the Richmond Turnpike, stages ran regularly 
over the whole length of the new road, in connection with 
steamboats from New York, and constituted part of the 
route of travel between New York and Philadelphia. At 
the western terminus of the Turnpike, stages were carried 
over the Sound by means of large scows,, and this ferry re- 
ceived the name of "The New Blazing Star." But these 
stars have all set, probably never to rise again. 



KILL VAN KULL— ARTHUR KULL. 

The precise meaning of the Dutch word "Cull," we are 
unable to give, though it probably had some reference to the 
water, as Newark Bay was emphatically called "the Cull," 
and was universally known by that name. The Dutch word 
"Kill" meant a small stream or passage of water ; therefore, 
the name Kill Van Kull means the stream or passage from 
the Cull, or Kull, as it is now spelled. Arthur Kull, or Kill, 
as it is now sometimes written, is a corruption of the Dutch 
word "achter," after, or behind; therefore, Achter Kull 
meant behind or beyond the Cull. An attempt has recently 
been made to change the orthography of the word Van, 
by substituting the letter o for a, thus, Von, which is neither 
Dutch nor English, and arises from ignorance of the fact that 
the Dutch a in this connection has the sound of the English 
o in the same connection ; therefore, to spell the word correct- 
ly, it should be written Van, and pronounced Von. We 
give the above as the explanation of the origin of the Dutch 
names of these waters. 



THE OLD PLACE. 

In the first, and for many years, the only house built on the 
road known by this name, religious evening services were 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 235 

held for a long time, its situation being central for a widely 
scattered population. After a while, the house became so 
dilapidated as to be uncomfortable, and the place of holding 
these meetings was changed. This proved to be so inconven- 
ient for many, that an apartment in the old house was repaired, 
and notice was given that the meetings would be resumed 
in the "Old Place," and thus the vicinity became known by 
that name. We do not know how reliable the above account 
of the origin of the name may be ; it has, at least, the merit of 
being natural and probable. The people of the vicinity have 
of late caught the mania for changing old names for new ones, 
and have called the place " Summer ville," a name appropri- 
ate enough during a part of the year at least ; and the "Old 
Place Road" is now " Washington Avenue," which is not at 
all complimentary to the illustrious character whose name 
has been thus appropriated. 



Hospitals, Beneficent 
Institutions, &c. 



238 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 



'' Si monumenturn requiris, circumspice." 

THE SAILOR'S SNUG HARBOR. 

In the summer of 1776, Captain John Lee, of Marblehead, 
in Massachusetts, under a commission of Congress, was 
cruising upon the high seas for British prizes. Finding 
himself short of supplies and munitions, he entered the port 
of Bilboa, in Spain, where, upon complaint of some English 
officers whom he had captured, he was arrested for piracy. 
The British minister in Spain used all his influence against 
him, but while the case was pending, the news of the Declar- 
ation of Independence reached Madrid ; the complaint against 
Captain Lee was dismissed, supplies and aid in refitting his 
ship were furnished, and Spain declared that the new flag of 
the United States should henceforth be as welcome in her 
ports as the old flag of Great Britain. She further sent a 
million of francs to her ambassador at Paris as a free gift for 
the young nation, and hinted that three thousand barrels of 
powder in New Orleans were entirely at its service. 

This timely friendship, like that of France, and, we must 
reluctantly confess, like all international friendships, was not 
wholly disinterested ; neither Spain nor France were in love 
with democracy or revolution, but they were heartily hostile 
to Great Britain, and were ready to strike the "ruler of the 
waves" whenever a blow would tell. Spain wished to solace 
her wounded honor by recovering Gibraltar, and she was 
greedy of territory beyond the Mississippi. 

Don Bernardo de Galvez, the brilliant young Governor of 
New Orleans, which was then a little city of scarcely four 
thousand inhabitants, and was described by the glowing 
French tourists as the most enchanting of cities, obeyed with 
ardor the direction of the home government. He retaliated 
the seizure of an American schooner upon the lakes, by the 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 239 

seizure and confiscation of all British vessels within his reach, 
and early announced that the port of New Orleans should be 
wide open for the sale of the prizes of Yankee privateers. 
This was good news to a thrifty Scotch trader in that city 
named Randall, who had crossed the sea to make his fortune, 
and who now quietly fitted out vessels which took the sea as 
privateers, and brought him rich returns. There is no tradi- 
tion of peculiar harshness in his captures, which could cause 
a curse to cling to his gold, which rapidly increased, and was 
invested in plantations in Louisiana. When he died, his 
only son inherited his estates. 

This son, Robert Richard Randall, died three-fourths of a 
century ago ; there is no record of his life, and there are none 
living probably who knew him. It was his custom to leave 
his Louisiana plantation every summer, and come to breathe 
the cooler airs of the northern coast, much as his successors 
in that region used to be seen at Newport and Saratoga before 
the war. Probably he was the counterpart of many a 
bachelor who may haply sit upon a pleasant piazza some 
sunny morning, snuffing the sea air, or the wind from the 
mountains ; if any such there be, let him be the counterpart 
of Randall, and so provide that his may become a name of 
interest to the unborn bachelor of another generation, if not 
of gratitude to hundreds and hundreds of "aged, decrepid 
and worn-out" fellow voyagers of life. 

Among the associates of Randall's summer sojourn by the 
sea, was a certain Mr. Farquhar, a family name which was 
familiar to New Yorkers in the beginning of the century, 
James Farquhar being the President of the Marine Society 
at the time of Mr. Randall' s death. Farquhar was an invalid, 
and was compelled every year to go to a southern and softer 
climate, and it naturally occurred to the friends that it would 
be convenient if their estates lay in the air that was most 
agreeable to their health ; they discussed the subject, and 
growing interested, compared their fortunes, which proved to 
be nearly equal, and after due consideration and debate, they 
agreed to exchange estate upon condition that Mr. Randall 



240 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

should pay five hundred guineas to boot, which he did, and 
the properties were transferred at the close of the last cen- 
tury. 

Mr. Randall was now a New Yorker — a plain, quiet citizen, 
of whom there are no traditions. Neither Dr. Francis nor 
President King, in their genial gossip of the city at the open- 
ing of the century, nor Mr. Valentine nor Miss Booth, in 
their pleasant histories, have preserved any anecdote which 
show that he was at all conspicuous among the solid gentry 
of the time, nor is there any portrait of him known ; no 
doubt he wore his hair powdered and in a queue, and dressed 
in silk hose and breeches, with silver shoe and knee buckles, 
and broad-flapped coat and vest, like other gentlemen of that 
day. Mr. Randall was a suburban citizen of what was then 
the little city of New York. It was bounded on Broadway by 
Anthony Street, on the North River by Harrison Street, and 
on the East River by Rutgers Street ; within these narrow 
limits was the city solid, but even the houses partook of the 
manners of the time, and stood apart in easy dignity, or were 
seated in green gardens and under pleasant trees. On Bow- 
ery Lane, stretching out of town through waving fields and 
cheerful orchards, farm-houses were to be seen even as far 
as Broome Street. The line of Broadway was the highland 
of the Island, and the hilly country about the the site of the 
St. Nicholas hotel sloped gently westward, enlivened by the 
country seats of rich men. If, following that line, the trav- 
eler advanced, upon his way to Albany, as far as the present 
Astor Place, he encountered a paling which ended the road 
at that point, and to his inquiry received the answer that it 
was the line of the farm of a Mr. Randall, who had ex- 
changed a Louisiana plantation for this estate of Mr. Far- 
quhar, at Sandy Hill. The mansion house was a large yel- 
low building, upon the spot where the Presbyterian church 
in Mercer Street stood. The rural character of the neighbor- 
hood long survived in the farm, which, within the memory of 
men, occupied the site of the New York Hotel. 

In the large yellow house, on the first day of June, 1801, 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 241 

Robert Richard Randall, " being weak in body, bnt of 
sound and disposing mind and memory," made his will. He 
had summoned General Hamilton and Daniel D. Tompkins 
as the lawyers to draw the paper. He directed that his just 
debts should be paid. He gave to the legitimate children of 
his brother Paul an annuity of forty pounds each until they 
were fifteen years old, and a sum of a thousand pounds to 
each sou as he became twenty-one, and the same to each 
daughter upon her marriage. He bequeathed to his worthy 
housekeeper his gold sleeve-buttons and a life annuity of 
forty pounds. To his faithful overseer he left his gold watch 
and forty pounds down. Finally, he bequeathed to his ser- 
vant his knee and shoe buckles, and twenty pounds down, — 
there he stopped. He had said nothing of the bulk of his 
property, and Hamilton and Tompkins waited his further 
directions. But Mr. Randall said simply that he had no 
other relatives, and did not know how to dispose of his 
property most wisely. He asked the advice of the lawyers, 
and Hamilton inquired how his fortune had been made ? 
Randall answered that it had been made for him ; he had in- 
herited it from his father. Hamilton inquired how his father 
had acquired it ? " By honest privateering," was Randall's 
reply. Hamilton then suggested that if no better disposition 
occurred to him, it would be proper to leave a fortune made 
upon sea, for the benefit of disabled seamen. Randall im- 
mediately felt the wisdom of the proposition, and assented, 
and it is to the benevolent sagacity of Alexander Hamilton 
that the establishment of the Sailor' s Snug Harbor is due. 

This account was derived from the late Isaac Bell, who was 
foreman of the jury upon the trial of the suit to break the 
will, and effectually disposes of the romantic tradition, which 
is of a kind always popular, that a certain grim and gloomy 
Captain Randall, another Kidd and ravager of the seas, after 
a dark career of prosperous piracy, during which by count- 
less murders and unimaginable atrocities, he amassed incred- 
ible wealth, became remorseful in his declining years, and in 
the vain hope of propitiating divine favor by good works. 



242 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

left his ill-gotten booty to found a hospital for decrepid 
sailors. 

Contestants to the will immediately arose when it was 
offered for probate, and among them was the bishop of Nova 
Scotia. For nearly thirty years the legal warfare between 
the heirs and the executors was continued, until the Supreme 
Court of the United States in March, 1830, sustained the will, 
and turned over the estate to the Trustees. 

During all this time the property belonging to the estate 
had largely increased in value, and with a part of the accu- 
mulations thereof, the Trustees, on the 16th day of June, 1831, 
purchased from Isaac R. Housman, Esq., the splendid prop- 
erty now occupied by the Institution, on the North Shore of 
Staten Island, " containing one hundred and forty acres of 
land, salt meadow and marsh, be the same more or less," for 
the sum of ten thousand dollars, and immediately com- 
menced the erection of suitable buildings thereon, and in 
August, 1833, the first inmates were received. 

On the first day of May, 1835, the trustees purchased from 
Isaac, Joseph and Abraham Soria, twenty acres of land " by 
estimation," lying west of and contiguous to the first pur- 
chase for the sum of six thousand dollars, beside a small 
parcel or two, making a total of 164 acres, for the sum of 
$16,000. 

The principal structure is a massive cut-stone edifice, with 
a large wing on each side connected with it by corridors ; 
there are numerous other buildings, all constructed in the 
best manner, for the accommodation of the inmates, beside 
a church, a hospital, and elegant residences for the officers. 
In front of the main edifice is a large monument erected to 
the memory of the founder, whose remains rest beneath it. 
The inscriptions on this monument are as follows : 

North Side. 

The Trustees of the Sailors' Snug Harbor erected this monument to 
the memory of Kobert Richard Randall, by whose munificence this 
Institution was founded on the 21st of August, 1834. 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 243 

East Side. 
The humane institution of the Sailor's Snug Harbor, conceived in 
a spirit of enlarged benevolence, with an endowment which time has 
proved fully adequate to the objects of the donor, and organized in 
a manner which shows wisdom and foresight. The founder of this 
noble charity will ever be held in grateful remembrance by the par- 
takers of his bounty. 

South Side. 

Charity never faileth. 
Its memorial is immortal. 

West Side. 
The Trustees of the Sailor's Snug Harbor have caused the remains 
of Kobert Kichard Kandall to be removed from the original place of 
interment, and deposited beneath this monument on the 21st of Au- 
gust, 1834. 

The following Annual Report of the Trustees of the Sailor' s 
Snug Harbor, presented to the Senate March 1, 1876, will 
give an idea of the resources of the institution : 

RECEIPTS. 

Balance of cash on hand 31st Dec, 1874 $16,977 38 

Cash received from Wm. T. Garner, for one year's rent of 

35 acres of land on Staten Island, leased to him 200 00 

Cash, changes made in the pay-rolls of the employes at the 

institution in 1875 37 52 

Cash, for grease sold from the institution 245 23 

Cash, for cabbages sold from the institution 19 00 

Cash, for an empty oil barrel 1 00 

Cash, E, C. Badeau, for extra tax on bill of prunes 132 

Cash, Thomas Melville, governor, for money, etc., found 

among the effects of deceased inmates in 1875 81 58 

Cash, from same, for sundries sold by him for account of 

the trustees in 1875 614 10 

Cash, from officers and employes of the institution, for sun- 
dries sold them by the governor for account of the trus- 
tees in 1875 723 20 

Cash, Joseph F. "Waller, for one year's rent of the " old frame 

parsonage " to 1st November, 1875 800 00 

Cash, Society for the Belief of Destitute Children of Sea- 
men, for one year's rent of the " Childrens' Home," to 
1st November, 1875 . . 500 00 



244 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

Cash, Kobert B. Minturn, for one year's rent of the boat- 
house lot to 1st November, 1875 50 00 

Cash, estate of Margaret Morris, for one year's rent of houses 

and lots Nos. 8 and 10 Clinton place, to 1st November, 1875 1,800 00 
Cash, Marine Bank, on the joint notes of the president and 
controller, viz.; 

8th February, payable 3d May, 6 per cent $5,000 00 

3d March, payable 1st May, 6 per cent 5,000 00 

7th April, payable 7th May, 6 per cent 5,000 00 

2d September, payable 2d November, 6 per cent 15,000 00 
2d October, payable 6th November, 6 per cent . . 20,000 00 

$50,000 00 

Cash, interest on bonds and mortgages in 1875 7,443 33 

Cash, interest on New York city bonds in 1875 4,200 00 

Cash, interest on Brooklyn city bonds in 1875 1,750 00 

Cash, interest on balances in Marine Bank in 1875 384 11 

Cash, for interest on over-due ground rents in 1875 , . 418 37 

Cash, for ground rent on lots in Fifteenth ward on account, 

and in full to 1st November, 1874 $13,230 00 

And on account of one year from 1st November, 

1874, to 1st November, 1875 233,582 50—246,812 50 



DISBURSEMENTS. $336,108 64 

Cash loaned on bond and mortgage $44,000 00 

Cash paid Marine Bank for loans made in 1875, and inter- 
est on same 50,410 84 

Cash paid for supplies 48,175 76 

Cash paid for repairs and improvements 98,933 64 

Cash paid for taxes $9,450 70 

" " " insurance 1,734 63—11,185 35 

Cash paid for house wages 10,925 76 

Cash paid for estates of deceased inmates 59 30 

Cash paid for furniture 3,243 02 

Cash paid for salaries 16,166 64 

Cash paid for contingencies 3,873 81 

Cash paid for farm 4,456 71 

Balance of petty cash account 48 67 

Balance of cash on deposit on 31st December, 1875, to the 

credit of the trustees in the Marine Bank $41,914 01 

In the Manhattan Company 2,713 13—44,627 14 



,108 64 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 245 

FUNDS. 

Dwelling-houses, Nos. 8 and 10 Clinton Place, in this city, at 

their cost $17,774 12 

Loans on bond and mortgage 132,000 00 

N. York city, seven per cent, registered bonds 60,000 00 

Brooklyn city seven per cent, coupon bonds 25,000 00 

Balance of petty cash account 48 67 

Cash on deposit to credit of the trustees in the Marine Bank 41,914 01 

In the Manhattan Company. 2,713 13 

$279,449 93 

ESTIMATED INCOME FOR THE YEAR 1876. 

Bents of houses and lots, Nos. 8 and 10 Clinton Place, for 

one year $1,800 00 

Bents of old " frame parsonage" on Staten Island, for one 



year. 



600 00 



Bents of " Children's Home " on Staten Island, for one year 500 00 
Bents of 35 acres of land on Staten Island, for one year. . . — ; — 
Bents of boat-house lot on Staten Island, for one year .... 50 00 

Interest on bonds and mortgages, for one year 9,240 00 

Interest, on city bonds, for one year 5,950 00 

Outstanding ground rents 9,750 00 

Ground rents on lots in 1st Ward, of this city, for one year, 

from 1st Nov., 1875, to 1st Nov., 1876 3,050 00 

Ground rents of lots in 15th Ward, for the year 1875, 

was $243,332 50 

To this must be added the remaining half of 
the increased annual rent of $4,360, viz : 
from the 1st Nov., 1875, to 1st May, 1876, 
of the fourteen lots whose leases expired 

May 1st, 1875 2,180 00 

And one-half of the estimated increased an- 
nual rent of $20,090, viz : from 1st May to 
1st November, 1876, of the 52 lots, the 
leases of which expire on the 1st May, 1876 10,045 00 

255,557 50 



Total estimated income for the year 1876 $286,697 50 

Thomas Greenleae, 

Controller. 



246 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

The number of the inmates, on the 24th of March, 1876 r 
was 493. 

At the same time the resident officers were : 
Thomas Melville, Governor. 
Rev. Charles J. Jones, Chaplain. 
S. V. R. Bogert, M.D., Physician. 
Joseph K. Clark, Steward. 

The qualification for admission to the benefits of the Insti- 
tution, is a sea service of five years under the flag of the 
United States ; in addition to this, the applicant must be su- 
perannuated, decrepid, or otherwise incapable of self-subsist- 
ence. 

Regular religious services are held in the Presbyterian form 
of worship; Roman Catholics are permitted to attend the 
services of churches of their own faith in the neighboring 
village. 

There is a respectable library connected with, and belong- 
ing to the Institution, which is generally well patronized. 

Food, clothing, tobacco, medicine, and every other article 
which is usually considered a necessity to a sailor, is fur- 
nished — except liquors — and even many luxuries. Bakers, 
tailors, laundresses, and farmers, are all employed in and 
about the Institution, to contribute to the necessities not only, 
but the comfort and enjoyment of the inmates. 

The Governors of the Institution from its commencement^ 
have been as follows : 

Capt. James Farquhar directed its affairs before it was re- 
moved to Staten Island. 

Capt. John AVhetten, from Aug., 1833, to Sept., 1844. 

Dr. S. V. R. Bogert, (acting), from Sept., 1844, to Sept., 
1845. 

Capt. A. F. Depeyster, from Sept., 1845, to Nov., 1867. 

Capt. Thomas Melville, from Nov., 1867, present incum- 
bent. 

PHYSICIANS. 

Dr. S. R. Smith, (visiting). 

Dr. S. V. R. Bogert (resident), from July, 1844, still in 
office. 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 247 

RESIDENT CHAPLAINS. 

Rev. John Grigg, Episcopalian. 
Rev. Robert Quinn, Dutch Reformed. 

Rev. Jackson, Presbyterian. 

Rev. Charles J. Jones, do. from May, 1863. 



THE RETREAT. 

On the 22d of April, 1831, the Legislature of the State of 
New Tork enacted a law which directs that the moneys 
levied and collected by law upon masters, mates, mariners 
and seamen arriving at the port of New York, be paid to the 
Trustees of the Seamen's Fund and Retreat, in the city of 
New York. These Trustees were to consist of the Mayor, 
Collector of Customs, President of the Seamen's Savings 
Bank, President of the Marine Society, the Health Officer of 
the city of New York, together with five shipmasters of the 
city of New York, to be chosen annually. The second 
section of the act directs .that convenient and suitable build- 
ings be erected in either New York, Kings or Richmond 
counties. This act received various modifications subse- 
quently, and was the authority for establishing the present 
" Seamen's Fund and Retreat." 

The first Board of Trustees were : 

Hon. Walter Bowne, Mayor. 

Capt. John Whelton, Prest. of the Marine Society. 
" Alex. Thompson, Prest. of the Nautical Society. 

Najah Taylor, Esq., Pres. of the Seamen' s Savings Bank. 

Dr. John S. Westervelt, Health Officer. 

Capt. James Morgan. 
" James Webb. 
" J. R. Skiddy. 
" Henry Russell. 
" Reuben Brumley. 

Samuel Swartwout, Esq., Collector. 



248 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

The Committee of the Board appointed to select a location, 
on the 15th of June, of that year, reported that they had 
purchased forty acres of land of Cornelius Corsen, on Staten 
Island, fronting on the bay of New York, for the sum of 
$10,000. 

In addition to the buildings upon the land when it was 
purchased, others were immediately erected, and the Insti- 
tution was opened on the first day of October, 1831, when 
thirty-four patients were received from the Marine Hospital 
at the Quarantine. The report for that month states that 
seventy-three patients had been received, and thirty-two dis- 
charged. 

Dr. Peter S. Townsend was the first Resident Physician. 

Rev. John E. Miller, of the Ref. Dutch Church at Tomp- 
kinsville, was the first chaplain, which office he retained 
until his death in 1847. 

Capt. James Morgan was appointed Superintendent in July, 
1832, but in October following Capt. Henry Russell was 
appointed, at a salary of $1000, with house and subsistence. 

The present officers of the Institution, May, 1876, are — 

TEUSTEES. 

Capt. W. C. Thompson, President. 

Hon. W . H. Wickham, Mayor of New York City. 

Dr. S. Oakley Vanderpool, Health Officer. 

Wm. H. Macy, Prest. of the Seamen's Savings Bank. 

Edward Gr. Tinker, 1 

Wm. H. Allen, I , . 

T , r , , ^Shipmasters. 

John Johnston, ^ 

Duncan R. Norvell, j 

Clarkson Crolius. 

James R. Robinson. 

Willet N. Hawkins. 

OFFICERS OF THE INSTITUTION". 

C. Henry King, M.D., Physician-in-Chief. 
Geo. W. Stoner, M.D., House Physician. 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 249 

Francis M. Kip, D.D., Chaplain. 
Joseph Perkins, Secretary. 
John E. Lloyd, Office Clerk. 

We cannot conclude our brief description of this noble 
Institution in better terms than by quoting from a "Histo- 
rical Sketch' ' from the pen of an eminent physician : 

"It has been often justly observed that the Retreat is, in 
many respects, unlike any other Hospital perhaps in the 
world. As its name imports, it is in truth a Retreat. 
The sailor who has been from one United States Hospital to 
another, and spent in each the allotted period of four 
months, at the end of which he must seek for quarters 
elsewhere, finds a home here where, if diseased beyond the 
reach of medical or surgical art to restore him, he is pro- 
vided for, for the remainder of his days. If worn out in the 
hard service of the sea, hopelessly crippled or superannuated, 
he is transferred, if entitled, and he desires it, to the Sailor' s 
Snug Harbor, or sent, at the expense of the Board of Trus- 
tees, to his home and friends, however distant. 

The cemetery of the Retreat is located upon a knoll at the 
western end of the grounds, overlooking the Bay and City of 
New York. Here poor Jack finds a quiet resting place by 
the side of his comrades when his life of hardship, priva- 
tions and peril is ended. 



HOME FOR THE DESTITUTE CHILDREN OF 

SEAMEN. 

This Institution, intended solely for the class of persons 
indicated by its name, was founded in 1846. It was origin- 
ally located at Stapleton, but when the large and commodious 
edifice, now occupied by the charity, on the lands of the 
Sailor's Snug Harbor, was completed in 1852, it was removed 
to that place. The Institution has a small fund of its own, 
but totally inadequate to its support — consequently its chief 
reliance is upon contributions and donations. 



250 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

The parents or guardians of the children received here are 
expected to pay fifty cents per week for each child, for which 
food, clothing, education, and in case of sickness, medical 
care, are furnished. Children placed here are surrendered to 
the managers at least for one year ; none are received under 
two, nor over ten years of age, and if they remain here until 
they have attained a proper age, they are either returned to 
their parents, or provided with respectable places. The 
number of inmates in September, 1876, was 106. 



THE S. R. SMITH INFIRMARY. 

On the 18th of April, 1861, the Medical Society of Rich- 
mond County convened for the purpose of adopting measures 
to establish an Infirmary for the care of the sick poor, and 
for the reception of casualties. Doctors Anderson, Moffat, Lea 
and Cavelti were appointed a committee to report a plan for 
its organization, and the plan proposed by them was adopted 
by the society. It was named "The Samuel R. Smith 
Infirmary," as a tribute to the memory of a distinguished 
physician and respected citizen of the county. This charity, 
which has ever since been in active and successful operation, 
has been the means of incalculable benefit to hundreds of 
sufferers. It is almost entirely supported by voluntary con- 
tributions and occasional bequests. The medical gentlemen 
of the county bestow their services to the patients of the 
institution gratuitously. 



THE YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF 
THE NORTH SHORE, S. I. 

The Association was organized at a meeting held in Trinity 
M. E. Church, on the evening of July 15th, 1867. On the 3d 
September following, it was incorporated. The following are 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 251 

the names of the incorporators : Mathew S. Taylor, George 
A. Middlebrook, Mulford D. Simonson, John D. Yermenle, 
and Eugene DuBois. The corner-stone of their beautiful 
edifice was laid Tuesday, August 15th, 1871, with appropriate 
ceremonies, and was dedictated November 22d, 1872. 

The building contains a Reading Room, Sitting Room, As- 
sociation Meeting Room, and an Auditorium capable of seat- 
ing four hundred and eighty persons. The total cost of the 
building was $19,755.32. 

The following gentlemen have been Presidents, viz. : 

1. John M. Hawkins, 1867 and 1868. 

2. Charles F. Cox, 1868 and 1869. 

3. M. Floy Reading, 1869 and 1870. 

4. Frank N. Barrett, 1870 and 1871. 

5. James D, Eadie, 1871 and 1872. 

6. Wm. Harman Brown, 1872, 1873, 1874, 1875. 

7. Cornelius DuBois, Jun., 1875 and 1876. 

8. Wm. R. Eadie, 1876 and 1877. 



"I." 



CHURCHES, 



254 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 



THE REFORMED CHURCH, PORT RICHMOND. 

" During the Dutch Colonial Government there was a settle- 
ment of- the persecuted French Vaudois, or Waldenses, on 
Staten Island ; as early as 1660, the Rev-. Samuel Drisius (of 
the Dutch Church in New Amsterdam) crossed the bay once a 
month to preach to them. There was a Huguenot settlement 
on the Island a short time afterward, parties of these having 
fled to Holland to escape from persecution, and having come 
over to New Netherlands in company with their new friends. 
After a season, the French church and organization passed 
away, and the great body of its members blended with the 
Dutch inhabitants, in the Reformed Dutch Church. The fact 
of the settlement of a considerable number of the persecuted 
Waldenses on Staten Island, is very interesting. They had 
fled from the dreadful persecutions in the valleys of Pied- 
mont, to Holland, and were sent, at the expense of the city 
of Amsterdam, amply provided for, to New Netherlands in 
America."* 

Dominie Drisius was one of the pastors of the Dutch 
Church in New York, then New Amsterdam, from 1652 to 
1682, and preached regularly once a month to the Waldenses 
on Staten Island, from about 1660 onward. It may be in- 
ferred from that fact, that there was a little church of that 
noble and devoted people established here ; not a church 
building perhaps, till later, but a little band of Christ' s peo- 
ple, which is the true meaning of a church, worshipping in 
some spot where they found it most convenient ; it might 
be in some building, or under some spreading oak of the 
forest at Oude Dorp, where their first settlement was made. 

In 1661 grants of land on this Island were made to several 
persons, among whom were some Waldenses, and also many 

* Vide App. N. (47.) 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 255 

other fugitives, who had fled hither from La Rochelle. They 
commenced a new settlement a few miles south of the Nar- 
rows, and built a little village of twelve or fourteen houses, 
and a block-house with two small guns, and a garrison of ten 
soldiers, for protection against the Indians. It was to this 
little colony that Dominie Drisius, who could preach in 
French, as well as Dutch, ministered once a month, while the 
colony was too feeble to support a minister of its own. The 
descendants of these Waldenses and Huguenots are still 
numerous on our Island, and bear some of the oldest and 
most honored names among us. Many of them have become 
connected with other denominations, partly from convenience 
of residence, but many more on account of the persistence of 
the Dutch Church in the use of the language of the Father- 
land, long after English had become the prevailing tongue. 

About the year 1665, the first church edifice built on the 
Island was the French or Waldensian Church at Stony Brook, 
on the Amboy road, a little south of the Black Horse corner. 
Of this church there are no remains, except a few foundation 
stones. 

About the same year, 1665, there was another church built 
on the Island. This was a Huguenot church, and stood near 
the Fresh Kills, or what is now known as the Seaman farm. 
The services in this church were conducted in French for 
many years after the date mentioned above. There are no 
vestiges of this church building to be found at this day, but 
the little grave-yard marks the spot where it stood. 

There are traces of a church on the North side, about 
1680, in which the services were in the Dutch language, the 
Hollanders having settled in considerable numbers along 
the Kills. 

There is no evidence that either of these churches had 
a pastor of its own ; beside Dominie Drisius, Dominie Selyns, 
who was pastor of the churches of Brooklyn, Bushwick and 
Gravesend, preached to the churches here at stated times. 

In 1682 and 1683, Dominie Taschemaker, from the Univer- 
sity of Utrecht, supplied the churches on the Island. He 



256 AJSHSTALS OF STATETST ISLAND. 

afterwards removed to Schenectady, and perished there in a 
massacre by the French and Indians, in February, 1690. 

The Rev. Pierre Daille, who had been professor in the Col- 
lege of Saumur, and who came to America in 1683, and was 
colleague to Dominie Selyns, preached frequently to the 
Huguenots on Staten Island and other places ; he was a 
learned and pious man. 

From 1687 to 1689, the church at Stony Brook was sup- 
plied by Laurentius Van Den Bosch, or "Van Bosen, as it was 
sometimes written. He was suspended from the ministry by 
Dominie Selyns and others, who could not wait for the slow 
process of sending their proceedings to be reviewed by the 
authorities in Holland. 

From this fact, the inference is warranted that this church, 
though composed of Frenchmen, was under the jurisdiction 
of the church in Holland, and was therefore, ipso facto, a 
Reformed Dutch Church. 

For three years from 1694, there appears to have been no 
pastors on the Island, but the churches were supplied from 
New York, Long Island and New Jersey. 

In 1697, the French Huguenot Church at Fresh Kill secured 
the services of a pastor in the person of the Rev. Dr. David 
Bonrepos, who had been settled at New Rochelle. He re- 
mained until 1717, supplying the church at Stony Brook also, 
when the infirmities of age compelled him to relinquish his 
charge. We find the name of this minister frequently in the 
county records of conveyances, in the purchasing and selling 
of real estate. 

In 1714, Governor Hunter executed a grant to the Re- 
formed Protestant Dutch Church, to build a new church on 
the North Shore, probably on the site of the one which, as 
was said above, existed thirty-four years before. We have 
preserved, as a curiosity, a diagram of the ground plan of 
this church, which will be found at the close of this Ap- 
pendix. 

There was a church at Richmond prior to 1717,* built 

*Vide App. N (48.) 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 257 

probably in 1662 for in that year, 1717, Dr. Bonrepos, having 
surrendered his charge, the churches at Fresh Kill and Stony 
Brook united with the Dutch at Richmond, and a new church 
edifice was erected — not where the present Reformed church 
stands, as is generally supposed, but opposite the present 
court house — and the three churches became one. This church 
then united with the church on the North Side in extending a 
call to the Rev. Cornelius Van Santvoord, of Leyden, who 
accepted the invitation and came to this country about 1718 : 
there is, however, no positive record of the date of his arrival, 
except one in the book of baptisms, which gives the date of 
his first performance of that ordinance in April of that year. 
Dominie Van Santvoord continued here until 1740, when he 
accepted a call from the Reformed Dutch Church at Schenec- 
tady, and removed to that place/* 

As has been said before, the date of the organization of a 
church on the North Side is not positively known, but that 
it was at a very early date, is evident from the title page of 
the old baptismal record alluded to above ; it is as follows : 

" Register Boek Van De namen Der Kinderen Dewelck 

Gfedoopt Bennen Op Staten Eylandt Beginne Van Het 

Jaer Anno 1696." In English "Register book of the 

names of children which have been baptized on Staten Island, 
beginning from the year 1696." 

During the succeeding ten years, so far as can now be as- 
certained, the church on the North Side had no pastor, but 
the pulpit was supplied, as at other times of vacancy, by 
ministers from the city and elsewhere. There is a ground- 
plan of the old church in existence; hexagonal in figure, 
dated in 1751, which is divided into eighty-four pews, with 
the names of the owners or occupants written in most of 
them, from which it is evident that the congregation must 
have been a large one for that period. 

In 1750 the church on the North Side united with the church 
at Bergen, N. J., in a call on Petrus de Wint. His creden- 

* Vide App. N. (49.) 



258 ANNALS OF S.TATEN ISLAND. 

tials, however, proved to have been forgeries, and he was dis- 
missed in June, 1752. 

One year from that time, the two churches again united in 
a call upon William Jackson, at that time a student under 
the care of the Rev. John Frelinghuysen, of Raritan, N. J. 
By ' the terms of the call, he was to proceed to Holland to 
complete his studies, the churches paying him an annual sum 
for his support. He remained there four and a half years, 
and was ordained there. On his return he was installed as 
pastor of the two churches in 1757. He had the reputation 
of a preacher scarcely inferior to that of Whitfield. Such 
crowds attended his preaching, that at times the churches 
could not contain the auditors, and the services were held in 
the open air. After a pastorate of thirty-two years, he be- 
came insane, and the pulpits were declared vacant. The two 
churches, however, united in making a comfortable provis- 
ion for him during the rest of his life. 

He was the last minister who preached in the Dutch language. 

After the Waldenses had united with the Dutch and French 
Huguenots in forming a church at Richmond, as already 
stated, a Presbyterian Church was organized at Stony Brook 
— how soon thereafter, however, we have no knowledge ; but 
in 1769 the Reformed Dutch Church at Richmond and the 
Presbyterian Church united to build a church on the identi- 
cal lot now occupied by the Reformed Church in that village, 
and this church was destroyed by the British during the war 
of the Revolution, because it was a rebel church. 

In 1790 the Rev. Peter Stryker was ordained minister of 
the Reformed Dutch Church on the North Side. In 1792 
the church was incorporated under the laws of the State of 
New York by the title of "The Reformed Protestant Dutch 
Church," on Staten Island. The names of the corporators 
were Peter Stryker, Hendrick G-arretson, John Van Pelt, 
Welhelmus Yreeland, John Garretson, William Merrel, Peter 
Haughwout, Abraham Prall and Nicholas Haughwout. Mr. 
Stryker having received a call from a church at Second -River, 
Belleville, N. J., left Staten Island in 1794. 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 259 

The old church, having been destined during the Revolution, 
because it also was a rebel church, and which stood a few 
feet north of the present edifice, it was resolved to build a 
new one of brick. The materials for this church were manu- 
factured in a field a few rods west of the site upon which it 
was built. It was completed and in use in the spring of 1787. 
It was in this church that Daniel D. Tompkins, Vice-Presi- 
dent of the United States, and his family, worshipped. 

Three years after the departure of Rev. Mr. Stryker, Rev. 
Thomas Kirby became the pastor ; he remained a little over 
three years, and was suspended from the ministry for in- 
temperance. 

On the 16th of May, 1802, the Rev. Peter I. Van Pelt was 
ordained as pastor, and continued so until 1835, when the re- 
lation between him and the church was dissolved by mutual 
consent. 

During Dr. Van Pelt's incumbency, a new church was 
organized at Richmond, and the present edifice built. 

In August, 1835, the present pastor, the Rev. James Brown- 
lee, D.D., was ordained and installed. 

The old brick church, having proved inadequate to the 
necessities of the congregation, the present church edifice 
was built upon the site of the former one, and dedicated in 
February, 1846.* 



THE REFORMED CHURCH AT RICHMOND. 

During the incumbency of Mr. Kirby in the church on the 
North Side, the matter of reorganizing the church at Rich- 
mond, and rebuilding the edifice on the site of the old 
church, which was burned during the war, was agitated, but 
no definite result was reached until 1808, when, by the per- 
severing efforts of Dr. Van Pelt, of the North Side church, 
the object was accomplished ; he supplied the pulpit until 

* Vide App. N. (50.) 



260 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

1835, when Dr. Brownlee, his successor, ministered to both 
churches until 1853. The connection between the two 
churches was dissolved in 1854, when the church in Rich- 
mond became a distinct and separate ecclesiastical organiza- 
tion. Its first pastor after that event was the Rev. Thomas 
R. G. Peck, and his successors have been Rev. Erskine N. 
White, Rev. Jacob Fehrmann, Rev. J. H. Sinclair, and the 
pulpit is now supplied alternately with that of the Church of 
the Huguenots, by Rev. Dr. F. M. Kip. This church has a 
chapel at Gilford's Station S. I. R. R. 



THE REFORMED CHURCH ON BRIGHTON HEIGHTS. 

Another off-shoot of the Church on the North Side was 
organized as a branch thereof, at Tompkinsville, on the 23d 
of July, 1820. This enterprise was carried to completion 
through the perseverance of Dr. Yan Pelt, assisted by the 
munificence of Vice-President Tompkins, who donated 
the land and contributed a large sum of money towards 
building the church. Dr. Van Pelt supplied the pulpit until 
1823, when, as an independent church, the Rev. John E. 
Miller became its pastor. Mr. Miller died in 1847, and the 
Rev. Alexander R. Thompson became the pastor. During 
his incumbency, some of the members withdrew their con- 
nection, and organized a church at Stapleton, nearer their own 
residences, with which Mr. Thompson identified himself. 
The vacancy thus left by him was filled by the Rev. Philip 
M. Brett, who was installed in 1851, and died in 1860. He 
was succeeded by the Rev. Edward Hitchcock, and he by the 
Rev. William T. Enyard, the present pastor. 

During Mr. Brett's pastorate it became evident that the 
neighborhood of the church was becoming objectionable, and 
measures were adopted to procure another site, which were 
successful, and a new church edifice erected on the elevation 
known as Brighton Heights, a short distance North of tl;e 
old church. 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 261 



THE CHURCH OF THE HUGUENOTS. 

In 1850 a number of the members of the Reformed Church 
in Richmond, residing at such a distance therefrom as to ren- 
der their attendance inconvenient, organized a new church at 
Bloomingview, now known as the Church of the Huguenots. 
A plain, but substantial church building was erected upon land 
donated by the Hon. Benjamin P. Prall, and the Rev. James 
A. M. Latourette, a descendant of a Staten Island Huguenot 
family, became its first pastor. Soon after, however, he re- 
signed his charge, having connected himself with the Protes- 
tant Episcopal Church. 

Mr. Latourette was succeeded by the Rev. Thomas B. 
Gregory, who also, after a brief term, resigned. The Rev. 
Herman B. Stryker, a native Staten Islander, and son of the 
Rev. Peter Stryker, formerly pastor of the church on the 
North Side, then supplied the pulpit for several years. 
After his resignation, the Rev. Dr. Francis M. Kip assumed 
the duties of the pastoral office, and remains there at the 
present time. 

In the early part of Dr. Van Pelt' s ministry, in the church 
on the North Side, a building was erected on the corner north 
of the church for educational purposes, and as long as it 
stood was known as the "Academy." The effort, however, 
to make it useful for the purpose to which it was devoted, 
did not succeed. It was in this building that in 1812, or 
about that time, a Sunday School was begun, which, as Dr. 
Van Pelt informed the writer, was the first in America, as far 
as he knew. He also said that it was not intended to be an 
exclusively religious institution, nor to be devoted exclusively 
to the instruction of children : adults who had had no previous 
education were admitted, and both classes were instructed in 
the ordinary branches of a common English education ; 
religious instruction, however, was not neglected. 



262 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 



ST. ANDREW'S CHURCH. 

After the conquest of the province by the English, the 
people of that nationality began to emigrate in considerable 
numbers. Generally they were an intelligent class, and the 
proximity of Staten Island to the metropolis, as well as its 
natural attractions, induced many to settle here. Like their 
predecessors, they were desirous of having a church of their 
own, in which the services should be conducted in their own 
language. It is probable that divine service, after the 
manner of the church of England, was occasionally held 
here prior to 1704, for in October of that year the Rev. 
William Vesey, of Trinity Church, New York, in reporting 
the state of religion in Richmond County to the Society for 
the propagation of the Gospel in foreign parts, in London, 
says that there was a tax of £40 per annum levied upon the 
people for the support of the minister, and that they desired 
to have a minister sent to them, as well as some further en- 
couragement from the society. 

In 1693 Gov. Fletcher succeeded in having the Episcopal 
Church established by law throughout the colony, to be 
supported by general taxation. This law remained in force 
until the Revolution, so that all non-Episcopalians, besides 
supporting their own churches, were obliged to contribute 
toward the support of the Episcopal Church. This law, 
however, became in a great degree inoperative in Richmond 
County after the munificient bequest of Judge Duxberry 
became available. 

In 1706 the Rev. John Talbot was sent here as a missionary, 
but a church in New Jersey shared his ministrations. In 
1710 he was succeeded by the Rev. Eneas McKenzie. The 
church was built in ] 713, and was a very plain stone struc- 
ture, standing probably upon the site of the present church. 
The church charter, usually known as Queen Anne' s charter, 
is a very voluminous and imposing document, written in 



ANNALS OF STATED ISLAND. 263 

large characters upon sheets of parchment, and altogether too 
long to be transcribed here. It commences as follows : 

"Anne, by the grace of God, Queen of Great Britain, 
France, Ireland, Defender of the Faith, &c. To all to whom 
these presents shall come, greeting: — Whereas our loving 
Subjects, the Reverend Eneas Mackenzie, Minister of Staten 
Island, Richmond County, Ellis Duxbury, Thomas Harmer, 
Augustin Graham, Joseph Arrowsmith, Lambert Gerritson, 
Nathaniel Brittain, William Tillier, Richard Merrill, John 
Morgan and Alexander Stewart, all freeholders, and of the 
principal inhabitants of the said Island in Communion of the 
Church of England, as by Law established, by their petition 
presented unto our Trusty and Wellbeloved Robert Hunter, 
Esq., Captain Generall and Governour in Chief of our 
province of New York, in behalf of themselves and all other 
the Inhabitants of the said Island in Communion of the 
Church of England, as by Law Established, and their Suc- 
cessors have sett forth that by the charitable and voluntary 
contributions of pious and well asserted Christians, and the 
blessing of Almighty God favouring their weak endeavours, 
there is now erected, built and finished neer the middle part 
of the said Island, a decent and convenient stone church for 
the service and worship of God, according to the Discipline 
of the Church of England, as by Law Established," &c, &c. 
And ends thus : — "And Witness our said worthy and well- 
beloved Robert Hunter, Esq., Captain Generall and Gov- 
ernour in Chief of our said province of New York and 
province of New Jersey, and the Territories depending on 
them in America, And our Admirall of the same, pr in 
councill at Sort Ann in New York the Twenty ninth day of 
June in the Twelfth of our Reign, Anno Dm. 1713." 

At the same time the queen presented the church with 
prayer books, pulpit cover, and a silver communion service, 
with her name inscribed on them. 

In 1718, Ellis Duxbury bequeathed an extensive and 
valuable tract of land to the Rector of St. Andrew's Church, 
and in case of voidance or vacancy, to his widow, until a 



264 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

successor is instituted, and for no other purpose whatever.* 
In "1747 the Rev. Richard Charlton became rector ; his 
eldest daughter was connected by marriage to the Dongan 
family, and another daughter was the wife of Dr. Richard 
Bailey, who was Health Officer of the Port of New York, 
and died in 1801 ; his remains are interred in the grave yard 
of the church. Dr. Charlton's ministry continued thirty -two 
years ; he died in 1779, and was buried under the church. 
In 1774, Henry Holland, Esq., a merchant doing business 
in New York, but residing mostly on the Island, presented 
the church with a bell, which, for want of a belfry, was 
hung for several years in a tree. At the same time he also 
presented two silver collection plates upon which is engraved 
the following inscription : 

" The gift of Henry Holland, Esq., to St. Andrew's Church, 
in the County of Richmond, in testimony of his gratitude 
to the members of that church for their regard to him, 
manifested by their successful exertions in his favor on his 
election as a Representative for that County in the General 
Assembly, and for their kind approbation of his conduct 
during a service in that trust for 8 years. Dated New 
York, Nov. 1, 1774." His coat of arms, or escutcheon, is 
also engraved upon the plates; the motto is " Liber tas et 
natale solum.''' 1 

After the decease of Mr. Charlton, the pulpit was supplied 
for a brief term by the Rev. Mr. Barker. On the first day 
of May, 1780, the Rev. Mr. Fieldf became the rector ; he 
had been a chaplain in the British army stationed in the 
fortifications in the vicinity of the church. His first baptism 
is recorded as having been performed two weeks after that 
day ; the record thereof is as follows : 

"John Simonson, son of Isaac Simonson and Elizabeth 
his wife, was born on the 4th December, 1779, baptised by 
Mr. Field on Sunday, May 14th, 1780." 

Mr. Field died in 1782, and his body was borne to the 

* Vide App. N. (51.) f Ibid. (52.) 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 265 

grave by soldiers of the 77tli regiment, and interred under 
the church. 

During the whole Revolutionary war, the Island being in 
possession of the British, divine service was generally sus- 
pended in all the churches except this. The same is true of 
all other parts of the country where the British were in pos- 
session. Where the whigs had power, none were closed ex- 
cept such Episcopal churches, the rectors of which refused 
to omit the prayers for the King. 

In 1783 the Rev. John H. Rowland became rector. He 
was a native of Wales, and had been previously settled in a 
parish in Virginia. In 1788 he removed to Nova Scotia, and 
died in 1795. 

In October, 1788,* the Rev. Richard Channing Moore be- 
came rector. He was born in the city of New York, August 
21st, 1762 ; he studied medicine and practiced physic for a 
few years, when he became a student of Bishop Provost. 
His first ministry, after receiving orders, for a very brief 
period was at Rye, in Westchester county, and at the date 
above mentioned came to Staten Island, where he remained 
until 1808, when he accepted a call to St. Stephen's Church, 
New York. In 1814 he was elected Bishop of Virginia, and 
rector of the Monumental Church in the city of Richmond, 
and was consecrated May 18, 1814. During his incumbency, 
in 1802, a chapel was built on the North side, and called 
"Trinity Chapel," which has since become the Church of the 
Ascension. He died November 11th, 1841. From 1793 to 
1801, he officiated also at Amboy at stated times. During 
his residence on the Island, he united 231 couples in marriage. 

In May, 1808, Dr. Moore was succeeded by his eldest son, 
the Rev. David Moore, who continued Rector for the period 
of forty-eight years. 

Rev. David Moore, D.D., was born in the city of New 
York, June 3d, 1787 : he studied theology with his father, 
and was admitted to the diaconate in 1808, when he immedi- 

* Vide App. N. (53.) 



266 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

ately took charge of his parish. In the north-east corner of 
the burial ground of St. Andrew's Church, in the Village of 
Richmond, stands a beautiful monument, with the following 
inscription on one side : 

Rev. David Mooke, D.D., 

Rector of 

St. Andrew's Church, 

Including Trinity Chapel, 

Staten Island. 

Born June 3d, 1787, 

Died Sept. 30th, 1856, 

Aged 69 Years. 

On the opposite side of the monument is the following in- 
scription : 

"This Monument, the spontaneous offering of a grateful 
community, was erected to the memory of Rev. David Moore, 
D.D., eldest son of the Rt. Rev. Richard Channing Moore, 
D.D., late Bishop of Virginia. In this, his first and only 
parish, where he was the beloved and honored Rector for 
forty-eight years, he had justly earned the reputation of a 
most devoted and laborious servant of Christ, and as he was 
found faithful even unto death, those who knew his value 
well, have laid him here to rest, weeping and "sorrowing 
most of all that they shall see his face no more." 
On a mural tablet within the church is the following : 
" Sacred to the memory of Rev. David Moore, D.D. ; or- 
dained Deacon in Trinity Church, May 8, 1808. Received 
priests' orders in old St. Andrew's, June, 1811. After a min- 
istry of 48 years in this parish, entered into rest on Tuesday 
evening, September 30, 1856. In his life and character he 
was an exemplary pattern to his flock, possessing in an emi- 
nent degree those qualifications which endeared him to the 
hearts of an attached people, and raised in their affections a 
monument which will endure when the church militant on 
earth shall receive the full fruition of the church triumphant 
in Heaven. 



ANNALS OP STATEN ISLAND. 267 

"For lie was a good man, full of the Holy Ghost and of 
faith, and much people were added unto the Lord." Acts 
ii, 24. 

Dr. Moore was succeeded by the Rev. Theodore Irving, 
L.L.D., Feb. 5th, 1857, who resigned in November, 1864. 

In June, 1865, Rev. C. W. Bolton became rector, but re- 
signed the following January, and was succeeded by the Rev. 
Kingston Goddard, D.D., of Philadelphia. Dr. Goddard 
died October 24th, 1875, and was succeeded by the Rev. Dr. 
Yocum, who was installed June 15th, 1876. 

As a matter of interest to many families still represented 
on the Island, the following list of the communicants of St. 
Andrew's Church, on Easter Sunday, March 26, 1769, is ap- 
pended : 

John Hillyard, Esq., & his wife. 

John Hillyard, Jun r , & his wife. 

John Mecheu (Micheau) & his wife. 

Joseph Bedell & his wife. 

Isaac Couberle (Cubberly) & his wife. 

Henry Latourette, Esq., & his wife. 

David Mercerow, Esq. 

Luwis Dubois, Esq., & his wife. 

Paul Micheu, Esq., & his wife. 

John Merrell. 

Barent Slact (Slaight.) 

John Mercerow & his wife. 

Cap n Drummin (Drummond) & his wife. 

Tunis Egberts. 

John Woats (Watts.) 

Cap* Gieffers (Gifford ?) & his wife. 

On that day were admitted Miss Cole, Miss Catey Balie, 
Miss Johnson, Miss Catin, Mrs. Morgain — 32 in all. 

On Whitsunday, May 23, 1790, there were 62 members in 
full communion, of who John Micheau and his wife, Paul 
Micheau and his wife, and the wife of John Mercereau, were 
the only survivors of the members of 1769. 

We note as a circumstance somewhat remarkable, that 



268 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

though services in this church were continued throughout the 
war of the revolution, while other churches were either closed 
or burned, the baptisms did not average more than three in a 
year, and some of these were children whose parents be- 
longed to the army. 



CALVAEY PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.* 

The first step looking toward the establishment of the Cal- 
vary Presbyterian Church was taken Feb. 22d, 1870, when a 
meeting was held at the residence of Mr. Augustus W. Sex- 
ton, and the following Preamble was adopted : 

' ' We, the undersigned, interested in the cause of church 
extension, do hereby signify our approval of the organization 
of a church and society at West New Brighton, Staten Island, 
New York, and do hereby agree to contribute, for the erec- 
tion of a meeting-house for such society, the sums set op- 
posite our names respectively ; our several subscriptions to 
become binding whenever two-thirds of the whole number 
of those whose names are hereto subscribed, shall agree to 
erect a suitable church edifice in the town aforesaid, and shall 
appoint a treasurer to receive the amount of our several sub- 
scriptious, provided that such agreement shall be entered in- 
to, and such a Treasurer appointed, within the period of 
twelve months from the date hereof. 

Dated February 22d, 1870." 

Then follow the names of 34 persons, whose subscriptions 
aggregate the sum of $4,270.00. 

On the evening of Feb. 21st, 1871, a second meeting was 
held at the same place, and after the organization of the 
meeting by the election of Mr. Nathan M. Heal, as President, 
and Mr. Augustus W. Sexton, Jun., as Secretary, the Pre- 
amble adopted at the previous meeting was read, and Mr. 
Augustus W. Sexton was elected Treasurer until the com- 
plete organization of the church. The Preamble was then 

* Vide App. N. (54.) 



AlOTALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 269 

amended so as to read, "We, the undersigned etc., etc., do 
hereby signify our approval of the organization of a Presby- 
terian Church and society at West New Brighton, etc., etc. 

At this meeting 12 persons were present. 

A third meeting was held Oct. 27th, 1871, at which two 
plans were submitted for a chapel building, and an executive 
committee were appointed to make inquiries concerning the 
probable cost of a suitable building ; to ascertain what ma- 
terial would be most desirable, and to have a general super- 
vision of the undertaking in its present stage, such committee 
to report to the meeting before taking any action. 

The committee reported at a meeting held Nov. 25th, 1871, 
and it was resolved that the building committee be given 
power to proceed with the building under three restrictions, 
viz., that they should not involve the congregation in debt ; 
that the number of sittings should be restricted to 300, and 
that the cost of the whole enterprise should not exceed 
$10,000.00. At this same meeting Mr. R. N. Havens, Mr. R. 
J. Fuller, and Mr. Augustus W. Sexton, were appointed a 
committee to take the necessary steps to secure a church or- 
ganization. 

At a meeting held Sept. 19, 1872, the following persons 
were elected trustees: Messrs. R. N. Havens, Edward Bement, 
Nathan M. Heal, Henry Dean, David Moore, A. W. Sexton. 

Sept. 26th, 1872, the society resolved to incorporate them- 
selves under the name and title of the Calvary Presbyterian 
Church of Staten Island. 

At a meeting held Nov. 15th, 1872, Mr. R. N. Havens and 
Mr. A. W. Sexton were elected elders, and Mr. R. J. Fuller 
and Mr. William J. Ladd deacons. 

Application having been made to the Presbytery of Brook- 
lyn for the admission of the society as an organized church 
into that body, a committee was appointed to receive the 
congregation, and on the 17th of November, 1872, at 3 o'clock 
P. M., the organization services were held. Thirty-five per- 
sons constituted the initial membership. On the evening of 
the same day, the Dedicatory services were held in the 



270 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

chapel on the corner of Castleton and Bement Avenues. 
From this date until April, 1873, the pulpit of the church 
was supplied by the Rev. James S. Evans, D.D., who, as 
Synodical Superintendent of church extension, had rendered 
great assistance in effecting the organization. 

On the evening of March 11th, 1873, a call was extended to 
the Rev. J. Milton (xreene, pastor of the Second Presbyterian 
Church of Brooklyn, which was accepted by him, and he was 
installed pastor of the church on the evening of April 3d, 1873. 

Constant growth has characterized the organization, so that 
in September, 1874, it was found necessary to enlarge the 
chapel by one half its original size. 

The present membership, (Nov. 1875) is 1 05. 

The lot of land upon which the church edifice is built was 
donated by the estate of the late Mr. Edward Bement. 



FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF EDGEWATER. 

This church was organized on the 14th day of May, 1856, 
with twenty-six members. Its first pastor was Rev. Alonzo 
Brown, whose pastorate extended from Oct. 1st, 1856, to 
Nov. 30th, 1857. Rev. Samuel W. Crittenden from April, 
1858, to Nov. 29th, 1859. Rev. W. H. Taylor from Feb. 22d, 
1860, to April 18th, 1864. Rev. D. R. Frazer from April 1st, 
1865, to Nov. 1st, 1867. At this time the Presbyterian 
Church at Clifton, which had been organized by the secession 
of some of the members of the Reformed Dutch Church at 
Tompkinsville, under the pastorate of Rev. A. R. Thompson, 
as elsewhere observed, abandoned their distinct organization 
and united with the church at Edgewater, and the Rev. J. E. 
Rockwell, D.D., on the 29th of October, 1868, became the 
pastor, and still continues so. The present number of mem- 
bers (Sept., 1867) is 160. The sittings in this church are free. 

The chapel, or Sunday School rooms of this church, which 
formerly stood on Gore, now Broad Street, and which was 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 271 

destroyed by an incendiary fire, is now being rebuilt at the 
corner of Brownell and McKeon Street, opposite the church. 
It is a spacious and elegant brick edifice, erected chiefly, if 
not wholly, through the munificence of a lady, who donated 
$8,000 for the purpose. 



CHURCH OF THE ASCENSION. 

In 1802, Trinity Chapel, in connection with St. Andrew's 
Church at Richmond, was built upon a lot of land on the 
North Shore, conveyed for the purpose by John McVickar, 
Esq. Rev. Richard Channing Moore, rector of the church at 
Richmond, officiated in it until he left the parish. After his 
departure, his son, Rev. David Moore, succeeded to the rector- 
ship, and preached, usually 'every Sunday afternoon, until a 
short time before his decease, being assisted in his duties in 
both places by several other clergymen employed for the 
purpose. After his death, the services in the chapel were 
conducted by several clergymen temporarily engaged until 
May, 1869, when another parish was organized, and Trinity 
Chapel became the Church of the Ascension. The first rector 
after the organization was Rev. Theodore Irving, L.L.D., 
of Newburgh. The congregation increased so rapidly that the 
old frame building was found to be insufficient, and the 
erection of a new church was determined upon. The corner- 
stone of the new edifice was laid with appropriate ceremonies 
on the 30th day of August, 1870, and was first opened for 
Divine service on Ascension Day, May 16th, 1871. Dr. Irving 
continued in the church until February, 1872, when he re- 
signed. In July, 1872, the present rector, Rev. James S. 
Bush, of San Francisco, was settled. 

The officers of the church at the time of the erection of the 
chapel, were Rev. Richard Channing Moore, rector ; James 
Gfuyon and Peter Mersereau, wardens, and Peter Laforge, 
John Latourette, John Yan Dyke, Nicholas Journeay, Paul 



272 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

Micheau, Joshua Wright, Paul J. Micheau, and George W. 
Barnes, vestrymen. The material of which the church is 
built is Staten Island granite ; in form it is cruciform, and 
has several beautiful memorial windows ; it has a turret on 
the northeast corner, and a tower and spire one hundred and 
fifteen feet high on the northwest corner. 



ST. JOHN'S CHUKCH, CLIFTON. 

The corner-stone of the first church edifice was laid on the 
12th day of September, 1843, by the Eev. Dr. Moore, of St. 
Andrew's Church, and the parish organized on the 20th. 
The first officers were Charles M. Simonson and W. H. As- 
pinwall, wardens ; Levi Cook, James R. Broadman, M.D., 
William B. Townsend, W. D. Cuthbertson, Lewis Lyman, 
Daniel B. Allen, William A. Fountain and William H. 
White, vestrymen. 

The corner-stone of the present beautiful edifice was laid 
by Bishop Potter, November 10th, 1869 ; the building com- 
mittee were John A. Appleton, Jacob H. Vanderbilt, Jere- 
miah Leaycraft and George S. Scofield ; architect, Arthur 
Gilman. 

The following is the succession of the rectors : 

Rev. Kingston G-oddard, from June, 1844, to June, 1847. 

Rev. A. Gr. Mercer, from June, 1847, to September, 1852. 

Rev. R. M. Abercrombie, from January, 1853, to February, 
1856. 

Rev. J. C. Eccleston, from April, 1856, to January, 1863. 

Rev. T. K. Conrad, from March, 1863, to October, 1866. 

Rev. J. C. Eccleston, D.D., called a second time, May, 
1867, and is the present incumbent. 

The present church edifice stands on the easterly side of 
New York Avenue, in that part of the village of Edgwater 
known as Clifton, and is, by far, the most beautiful in 
the county. The material of which it is constructed is a 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 273 

rose-colored granite, from Say brook, Conn. The style is the 
later decorated Gothic of the fourteenth century, of the time 
of the third Edward, in which so many of the parish 
churches in England were erected. The cost was $120,000, 
and the church is free from debt. 



ST. PAUL'S CHURCH, CASTLETON. 

This church, originally in Castleton, now in Edgwater, 
Middletown, was organized in March, 1833. Its first officers 
were Henry Drisler and "William Whettin, wardens ; Richard 
S. Cary, Caleb T. Ward, Daniel Simonson, John B. Simonson, 
Henry B. Metcalfe, vestrymen. 

In April, 1870, a new church, which is a solid stone struc- 
ture, was completed, at a cost of $50,000. It was erected by 
the Hon. Albert Ward, at his own expense, as a "Memorial" 
of his only sister, the late Mary Mann Ward, and the edifice, 
together with the land surrounding it, was presented by him 
to the parish. On petition to the County Court, an order 
was made, in conformity with the statute, to change the name 
to v 'St. Paul's Memorial Church" of Richmond county. 

Its present officers are Albert Ward and J. H. Pool, war- 
dens ; William C. Anderson, M.D., J. R. Kearney, Roland 
Thomas, A. E. Outerbridge, G. H. Daley, Robert W. Gordon, 
Jun., W. Kebs, Isaac O. Van Duzer, vestrymen. 

The succession of the Rectors is as follows : 

Rev. F. H. Cuming, 1833. 

Rev. Wm. P. Curtis, 1834, died 1834. 

Rev. Wm. H. Walter, 1836. 

Rev. Wm. Walton, 1840. 

Rev. Gordon Winslow, 1844. 

Rev. Charles A. Maison, 1852. 

Rev. E. H. Cressy, 1859. 

Rev. T. W. Punnett, 1861. 

Rev. Charles B. Coffin, April, 1875, died July 10th, 1875. 

Rev. Albert U. Stanley, Nov., 1875, the present incumbent. 



274 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 



ST. LUKE'S CHURCH, ROSSVILLE. 

Of this church we have been able to procure only a meager 
account. The parish register appears to have been imperfect- 
ly kept. 

The church edifice was erected in 1843, and its first rector 
was Rev. C. D. Jackson ; he officiated some six or seven 
years, when he died in Westchester county. He was suc- 
ceeded by the Rev. William H. Rees, who officiated about 
five years, when he died at Newark, N. J. The next rector 
of whom we find any account was the Rev. Jesse Pound, who 
died in the parish after a service of some nine or ten years. 
He was succeeded by the Rev. Henry H. Bean, who, after 
several years' service, also died in the parish. The church at 
present (July, 1876) is vacant. There have been other rectors, 
but there is no record of them. 



CHURCH OF THE HOLY COMFORTER. 

This church is located at Eltingville, in the town of South- 
field. The parish was organized October 24th, 1865 ; the 
incorporators were, Albert Journeay, James Guyon, Edward 
Banker, Junr., S. K. Raymond, John W. Mersereau, Junr., 
and Charles E. Robins. The church edifice was erected in 
1865, and consecrated May 29th, 1868. 

The rectors have been as follows : 

Rev. J. W. Payne, from Nov. 29th, 1865, to August 9th, 1866. 

Rev. W. W. Holley, from Oct. 4th, 1866, to Oct. 24th, 1867. 

Rev. W. Leacock, from Feb. 26th, 1868, to Sept. 23d, 1868. 

Rev. Newland Maynard, from Sept. 27th, 1869, to May 
23d, 1871. 

Rev. Frederick M. Gray, from Aug. 1st, 1873, present in- 
cumbent (1876.) 



ANNALS OF STATEJST ISLAND. 275 

THE MORAVIAN CHURCH. 

So far as is now known, the first of the denomination of 
Christians called Moravian, or United Brethren, on Staten 
Island, was Captain Nicholas Garrison. It is said that the 
ship which he commanded, while on a voyage from Georgia 
to New York, was overtaken by an exceedingly violent storm. 
Among the passengers on board was the Bishop Spangenberg, 
who remained calm and undisturbed amidst the confusion 
and terror which prevailed on board, spending most of the 
time in earnest prayer. The vessel survived the tempest, 
and reached the port in safety, but ever after a very warm 
frienship existed between the Bishop and the Captain, who 
was a pious man. In 1742, David Bruce, a very zealous ser- 
vant of God, was sent to visit" the scattered flocks in New 
York, and on Long and Staten Islands, and he was probably 
the first Moravian preacher who ever officiated as such on 
Staten Island. 

The ship or snow, alluded to above, was built for the ser- 
vice of the Moravians, on Staten Island, between the year 
1745 and 1748, under the direction of Abraham Boemper 
and Timothy Horsfield, agents of the Moravian Church in 
New York ; she was launched on the 29th day of May of 
the last mentioned year, and registered in the name of Mr. 
Henry Antes. The cost of her building was defrayed almost 
entirely by Bishop Spangenberg from a legacy left him in- 
dividually by Thomas Noble, a merchant of New York. This 
vessel was in the service of the Moravian Church nine years, 
in the course of which she crossed the Atlantic twenty-four 
times, sailing between New York and London, or Amsterdam, 
and made one voyage to Greenland. She had the reputation 
oft being an excellent sailer. The largest colony she ever car- 
ried was that led by John Nitschmann, which landed at New 
York City in May, 1749, and numbered one hundred and 
twenty-five souls. She put to sea on the 8th of September, 
1748, for the first time, and for the last time on the 20th of 



276 AJST1STALS OF STATED island. 

November, 1757, in command of Capt. Christian Jacobson. 
Ten days thereafter, in latitude 37° North, and longitude 60° 
West, she was chased by a French Privateer, the Marguerite, 
captured, and given to a prize crew to be taken to Louisburg, 
but owing to ignorance of navigation on the part of those to 
whom, she was intrusted, was totally wrecked on the 12th day 
of January, 1758, off the coast of Cape Breton ; her passen- 
gers barely escaped with their lives. 

Count Zinzendorf, during his sojourn in America between 
December, 1741, and January, 1743, extended the influence 
and enlarged the membership of this denomination in New 
York, and also on Long and Staten Islands. From that time 
religious intercourse was maintained unbroken between those 
places and Bethlehem, and after the arrival of the first col- 
ony of Moravians in June, 1742, the above named three 
places were jointly constitued one of many fields in which 
the brethren sought to labor for the furtherance of gospel 
truth. It was without delay entered by their evangelists, or 
itinerants. Among these were the brethren Bruce, Aimers, 
Gfambold, Neisser, Utley, Rice, and Wade. 

Between 1742 and 1 746 the Moravian Society in New York 
met for worship at Thomas Noble's; after that time at Henry 
Van Vleek's, in whose house also the ministers were accus- 
tomed to lodge during their sojourn in the city. In the spring 
of 1748, at which time there were upwards of fifty persons 
attached to the Brethren in the city and on the adjoining 
islands, an ineffectual effort was made to secure the use of 
the Lutheran Church in New York for public services 
statedly. Thereupon a hall was rented for holding meetings, 
and apartments for the residences of ministers. In the 
former there was preaching both in English and German once 
on the Lord's day, and public and private worship on several 
evenings of the week. 

Abraham Boemper, Henry Van Vleek, William Edmonds, 
John Kingston, Jeremiah Burnet and Jannitje Boelen, of 
New York; Timothy aud Mary Horsfield, William and 
Charity Corn well, and Jaques,[and Jacomyntje Cortelyou, of 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 277 

Long Island; and Jacobus and Vettje Van Der Bilt, of 
Staten Island, are mentioned in September, 1747, as being the 
most active members of the triple Moravian Society in the 
province of New York. 

On the 27th of December, 1748, Bishop de Watterville or- 
ganized a Moravian congregation in New York from members 
of the society, in connection with the Brethren, since 1741 ; 
George Neisser was installed as pastor. In 1751 a church 
was built on Fair Street, now Fulton, between Nassau and 
William Streets, and dedicated to the worship of God by 
Spangenberg and the brethren Owen Rice and Jacob Rogers, 
on the 18th of June, 1751. Before the close of the year, a 
parsonage also had been erected on the line of the street in 
front of the church. It was first occupied by Owen and 
Elizabeth Rice. Abraham Reincke was settled in New York 
in 1754. 

Between 1742 and 1763, about a dozen different clergymen 
of the denomination came occasionally to the Island to offici- 
ate. In 1756 there were only three communicant members 
on the Island, viz. : Jacobus Vanderbilt and his wife Vettje or 
Neiltje, and the widow Elizabeth Inyard.* The religious 
services were usually held in a school-house, which, as some 
say, stood upon or near the site of the present church, but as 
others say, with more probability, at the corner of the roads 
at what is now called Egbertville. In 1762, Richard Connor, 
Stephen Martino, Jun., Tunis Egbert, Jacob Vander Bilt, 
Aaron Cortelyou, Mathias Enyard, John Baty, Cornelius 
Cortelyou, Cornelius Vander Bilt, Cornelius Van Deventer, 
Stephen Martino, Mary Stilwell, Cornelius Martino and Peter 
Perine, applied to the church authorities at Bethlehem, Penn- 
sylvania, for the establishment of a Moravian Church upon 
Staten Island. On the 7th of July, 1763, the corner-stone of 
a church and parsonage was laid, and on the ensuing 7th of 
December the church was consecrated. The identical build- 
ing is still standing, and continues to be occupied as a par- 
sonage. 

* Vide App. N. (55.) 



278 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

The first regularly settled pastor of the church was Hector 
Gambold, in 1784 ; he was succeeded the same year by James 
Birkly, and he by E. Thorp ; then followed — 

Frederick Moehring, from 1787 to 1793. 

James Birkly again, from 1793 to 1797. 

Frederick Moehring again, from 1797 to 1803. 

Nathaniel Brown, from 1803 until his death in 1813. 

John C. Bechler, from 1813 to 1817. 

George A. Hartman, from 1817 to 1837. 

Ambrose Rondthaler, from 1837 to 1839. 

H. G. Clauder, from 1839 to 1852. 

Bernhard de Schweinitz, from 1852 to 1854. 

Amadeus A. Reinke, from 1854 to 1860. 

Edwin T. Senseman, from 1860 to 1862. 

Eugene Leibert, from 1862 to 1867. 

Francis F. Hagen, from 1867 to 1870. 

William L. Lennert, from 1870 to 1876. 

William H. Vogler from 1876— present incumbent. 

The early dates and events given above, have been derived 
chiefly from denominational sources, the records of the church 
having been destroyed during the Revolution, when some 
British soldiers forcibly entered the parsonage at night, and 
after wantonly destroying furniture and other articles be- 
longing to the occupant, carried off the archives of the^ infant 
church. About the same time, probably on the same night, 
the house of Capt. Christian Jacobson, in the vicinity of the 
church, was also entered, and he was killed by being shot. 
He was an eminently pious man, and captain of the Mora- 
vian ship, "Irene," after the retirement of Capt. Garrison. 

The society was incorporated April 15th, 1808. 

The present church edifice was consecrated May 15th, 1845. 

The first conveyance of real estate to the church was by a 
document endorsed " Lease and Release" here given entire, 
verbatim et literatim. 

' " This Indenture, made the Eighth day of June, in the 
third year of the Reign of our Sovereign Lord George the 
Third, of Great Britain, France and Ireland King, Defender 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 279 

of the Faith, and in the Year of our Lord, 1763, Between 
John Baty, of Richmond County, Province of New York, 
Yeoman, of the one Part, and Thomas Yarrell, Minister of 
the United Brethren of the City of New York, Henry Van 
Yleek, of the City aforesaid, Merchant, Cornelius Van De- 
venter, Yeoman, & Richard Conner, Esqr., both of Richmond 
County of the other part, Witnesseth that the Said John 
Baty, for and in Consideration of the Sum of five Shillings 
Current Money of the Province of New York, to him in hand 
Paid by the said Thomas Yarrell, Henry Van Vleek, Cornel- 
ius Van Deventer and Richard Conner, the Receipt whereof is 
hereby acknowledged, he the said John Baty hath Granted, 
Bargained & Sold, and by these Presents doth grant Bargain 
and sell unto them the said Thomas Yarrell, Henry Van 
Vleek, Cornelius Van Deventer and Richard Conner, all that 
Certain Peace or Parcel of Land, Scituate lying and being on 
the South side of Statten Island, Richmond County, Province 
of New York, Beginning at the North East corner of the 
Land of Cornelius Cortelyou, thence running on a Course 
North twenty- Seven degrees West Three Chains, thence North 
Eight degrees West five Chains & forty Lincks, thence North 
forty degrees East five Chains and twenty-two Lincks, thence 
South forty-Seven Degrees East seven chains & forty-four 
Lincks to the Place of Beginning, Containing five & a half 
acres more or Less, Bounded South West & South South 
West by Land of Cornelius Cortelyou, and North West and 
North East by the Land of the above said John Baty, & 
South east by the King' s Hey Way. Together with all and 
Singular the Reversian & Reversians, Remainder & Re- 
mainders, Rents and Services of the said Premisses above 
mentioned, and every Part and Parcel thereof with the ap- 
purtenances, To have and to hold the Said Peice or Parcel of 
Land, Hereditaments and Premises above Mentioned and every 
part and parcel thereof with the Appurtenances unto the 
Said Thomas Yarrell, Henry Van Vleek, Cornelius Van 
Deventer & Richard Conner, their Executors, Administrators 
and Assigns, from the day of the date of these Presents, 



280 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

for and during and untill the full End and term of one whole 
year from thence next and immediately ensuing and follow- 
ing fully to be Compleat and ended, Yielding and Paying 
therefore one Pepper Corn on and upon the feast of St. 
Michael the Arch Andel, (if Demanded) to the Intent that by 
virtue of these Presents and by force of the Statute for trans- 
ferring of uses into Possession, they the said Thomas Yar- 
rell, Henry Van Vleek, Cornelius Van Deventer & Richard 
Conner may be in actual Possession of all and singular the 
Said Premises above Mentioned with the Appurtenances, and 
be thereby Enabled to accept and take a grant and Release of 
the Reversion & Inheritance thereof to them & their heirs, to 
the only Proper use and behoof of them the said Thomas 
Yarrell, Henry Van Vleek, Cornelius Van Deventer and Rich- 
arn Conner, their heirs and Assigns forever. 

In Witness whereof, the Parties first above named have 
hereunto sett their hands & Seals the day & Year first above 
Written. 

Sealed & Delivered John Beaty (l.s.) 

in the Presence of us, 
Jacob Vanderbilt, 
John Herttell. 

On the succeeding day, June 19th, 1763, John Baty and 
Hannah his wife conveyed the same premises to the same 
parties in fee, in consideration of twenty-five pounds, ten 
shillings ($63.75.) 

On the second day of March, 1790, Edward Beattey, as 
executor of the last will and testament of his father, John 
Beattey, in consideration of five shillings, conveyed the same 
property, with slight variation in the courses, to John Ett- 
wein Bishop, Hans Christian Van Schwein, and the Rev. 
Jacob Van Vleek, of the town of Bethlehem, and State of 
Pennsylvania, the Rev. Frederick Moehring, Richard Conner, 
John Dorsett and Lewis Ryerss, of the county of Richmond, 
for the reason given in the following extract therefrom : 

" Whereas, the late John Beattey, of the County of Rich- 
mond & State of New York, in the year of our Lord one 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 281 

Thousand Seven Hundred & Sixty-three, did give & sell a 
lott of Ground to a religious Society in Union with the 
Episcopal Church, known by the name of Unitas Fratrum, 
or United Brethren, on which by divers Contributions & 
Donations by a number of said Society & other Friends, a 
Church or House of Worship with a dwelling House for the 
Minister, has been built and to this day Upheld and kept in 
repair ; And, Whereas, the Deed of Conveyance of said John 

Beatty has been in the time of War mislaid or somehow 

lost."* 

The deed alluded to, in the above extract, was not lost as 
was supposed, but had been sent to the church authorities at 
Bethlehem, in accordance with the custom of the church, 
with congregations which were not self-sustaining. Years 
after the execution of the executor's deed, after the church 
had become self-sustaining, it was returned. 

On the 31 st day of August, 1873, the Chapel and Sunday 
School building at the Four Corners was dedicated. It was 
built upon land donated for the purpose by Mr. Cornelius 
Du Bois ; the lot is one hundred feet square. The whole 
premises is estimated to be worth over seven thousand dol- 
lars. 

The donations of Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt to this 
church of his forefathers, have been munificent. When the 
present church edifice was erected, he contributed the sum of 
one thousand dollars towards its completion. On the 20th 
day of December, 1865, he gratuitously conveyed to the 
Trustees of the United Brethren's Church on Staten Island, 
eight and a half acres of land on the East side of the origi- 
nal five and a half acres, and on the 30th day of October, 
1868, about forty-six acres more on the north and west sides 
thereof. 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 



THE BAPTIST CHURCH. 



The establishment of this church on Staten Island, like that 
of several others, was the result of missionary labors. Pro- 
minent among the pioneers of this denomination, are found 
the names of John G-ano and Elkanah Holmes, who visited 
the Island and preached in private houses, in barns, under 
trees, and wherever else the people could be gathered 
together. On the 27th of August, 1785, eight persons, viz. : 
Anthony Fountain, Sen., Belichy Fountain, Hannah Fountain, 
Nicholas Cox, Margaret Kruser, Mary Yan Name, Mary 
Lockerman and Susannah Wandel, were baptized. On the 
24th of October following, Jacob Van Pelt, John Wandel, 
Jun., and Charles Van Name, were also baptized, and on the 
21st of November, John Lockerman, making in all twelve 
persons, who, on the 30th of December of the same year, were 
organized into a church by the Revs. G-ano and Holmes, of 
New York. The late venerable Garret Fountain,* who, 
though residing on the Island, had previously connected 
himself with a Baptist Church in New York city, now removed 
his membership to the new organization. 

From 1785 to 1796, the records of the church have been lost, 
bat in the latter year Daniel Steers supplied the pulpit, but 
it is doubtful whether he was ever regularly ordained. From 
1796 until 1809, there is another blank in the history of the 
church, but at that date we find the church without a pastor, 
though services were held, conducted by Revs. Parkinson, 
Cox, Wykoff, Segar and Bruce, of New York city. 

In this year, 1809, the "Clove Meeting House"f was built, 
and dedicated October 24. 

In the spring of 1810, the church called as their pastor the 
Rev. James Bruce, a licentiate of the First Baptist Church, of 
New York, who accepted the invitation and preached his first 
sermon on the second Sunday in May. He was ordained in 

* Vide A pp. N. (56.) f Ibid. (57.) 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 283 

New York the 21st day of June, and on the 24th baptized 
seven persons on the sea-beach, and on the 29th of July, at 
the North side, three more, viz. Jacob Burbank and Nancy 
his wife, and Mrs. Charity Baker. Mr. Bruce died in 1812, 
and was succeeded by Elder Carpenter, who had been a 
Methodist preacher, but having changed his views, he was 
baptized on the 25th of September, and immediately installed 
as pastor of the church. He was, however, soon dismissed, 
and from 1813 to 1817 the church was supplied by various 
ministers. In August of the last named year, Rev. Robert 
Randolph, of Samptown, N. J., became pastor of the church. 
After a service of three years, he was honorably dismissed, 
and was succeeded by Rev. Thomas B. Stephenson, a licen- 
tiate of the Bethel Baptist Church of New York, who was 
ordained in the Clove Meeting House, August 25th, 1819. In 
August, 1822, he resigned his charge to engage in the work of 
domestic missions. In April, 1824, Rev. Aruna R. Martin 
became pastor of the church, and was ordained June 8th 
following. He was a very zealous man, and after a pastorate 
of eleven years, died in October, 1835. 

During Mr. Martin's incumbency, the Baptist Church at 
Gfraniteville, then called Fayetteville, was built.* 

On the first Sabbath in May, 1836, Rev. Samuel White be- 
came pastor of the two churches. The records of the church 
then contained the names of sixty-nine members, but ten of 
them could not be found. During the early years of Mr. 
White's. ministry the membership of the church was more 
than doubled, and the church at Graniteville was enlarged to 
accommodate the worshippers. 

On the 24th February, 1841, fifty-three persons received 
letters of dismission, and were organized as a separate church 
at Port Richmond, and called the "North Baptist Church of 
Staten Island," now known as the "Park Baptist Church." 
The following are the names of the persons who received their 
letters of dismission on this occasion, and became the founders 
of the Park Baptist Church, viz : 

* Vide App. N. (58.) 



284 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 



John Lockman, 
Mary Lockman, 
Thomas Wright, 
Mary Wright, 
Charles Van Pelt, 
Susan Van Pelt, 
Catharine Kinsey, 
Jacob Van Pelt, 
Harriet Van Pelt, 
Harriet Van Pelt, 2d, 
Nicholas Van Name, 
Sarah Van Name, 
Esther Thompson, 
William B. Thompson, 
Mary H. Thompson, 
Gertrude Jones, 
Mary Merrill, 
Catharine Van Pelt, 
Nancy Decker, 
Polly Burbank, 
Asher Bead, 
Eliza N. Bead, 
George W. Smith, 
Catharine C. Smith, 
Mary H. Wilder, 
William Lissenden, 



Ann G. West, 
Mary Ann Haughwout, 
George F. Thompson, 
Sophia Thompson, 
John Thompson, 
Barbara Post, 
Jane Maria Van Pelt, 
Margaret Bedell, 
Emma Housman, 
Betsy Simonson, 
Dinah Biddle, 
Bichard Eullager, 
Sarah E. Eullager, 
Sarah A. Wamboll, 
Jacob Bush, 
Mary Bush, 

Bachel Ann Van Name, 
Ann Van Name, 
Eliza Van Pelt, 
Moses Van Pelt, 
Polly Van Pelt, 
Elima Fullager, 
Sarah G. Eullager, 
Abrain Crocheron, 
Mary Van Pelt, 
Mary Simonson. 



Mary Lissenden, 

The Council which constituted this church convened at the 
church at Graniteville on the 1st of March, 1841. 

The first pastor of the North, now Park Baptist Church, 
was Rev. J. T. Seeley, from May 1st, 1841 to August 1st, 1845, 
having baptized eighty -one. 

The second pastor was Rev. David Morris from August 1st, 
1845, to May 1st, 1849, having baptized twenty-six. 

The third pastor was Rev. B. C. Townsend from May 1st, 
1850, to May 1st, 1852, having baptized fifteen. 

The fourth pastor was Rev. H. Jackson, from May 1st, 
1852, to February 1st, 1853. 

The fifth pastor was Rev. John Seage, from May 1st, 1854, 
to May 1st, 1856, having baptized fourteen. 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 285 

The sixth pastor was Rev. C. P. Wilds, from June 1st, 
1856, to April 25th, 1858. 

The seventh pastor was Rev. Gr. W. Dodge, from August 
1st, 1858, to May 30th, 1859. 

The eighth pastor was W. A. Barnes, from February 9th, 
1860, to February 18th, 1861, when he was dismissed. After 
this, and until August, 1864, the church had no settled pastor, 
but was supplied chiefly by Rev. William B. Scrope. 

The ninth pastor was Rev. D. B. Patterson, from August 
21st, 1864, to February 1st, 1866, who then resigned on ac- 
count of ill health, having baptized six. 

The tenth pastor was Rev. D. W. Sherwood, from January 
27th, 1867, to September 1st, 1870, having baptized nine. 

The eleventh pastor was Rev. S. Gr. Smith, who was 
installed December 1, 1870, and is the present incumbent, 
(March, 1877). 



MARINERS' HARBOR BAPTIST CHURCH. 

This church is an off-shoot from the North, or Park Bap- 
tist Church, at Port Richmond, and was organized 12th March, 
1857. The names of the constituent members are as follows : 

David Van Name, Sr., Betsey Van Pelt, 

Agnes Van Name, Daniel A. Mallett, 

Dea. Geo. E. Thompson, Maria H. Thompson, 

Elizabeth Thompson, Harriet Merrill, 

John Thompson, Catharine A. Van Pelt, 

Melinda Thompson, Sarah Cartwright, 

David Van Name, Jr., Sarah J. Cartwright, 

Rachel Ann Van Name, E. Clara Cartwright, 

Nicholas Van Name, Jacob Loots, 

Sarah Van Name, Elizabeth Loots, 

Harriet Ann Johnson, Charlotte Kinsey, 

John C. Van Name, James Fisher, 

Catharine Van Name, Elizabeth Eisher, 

"William Lissenden, Barbara Post, 

Mary Lissenden, Eliza Bush, 



286 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

William H. Lissenden, Ellen Corsen, 

Jacob Bush, Clarissa Thompson, 

Mary Bush, Mary Merrill, 

Elizabeth Van Pelt, Sophia Merrill, 

Jacob Van Pelt, Bichard Hancock, 

Harriet Van Pelt, Emily Hancock, 

Moses Van Pelt, Sarah M. Deacon, 

Mary Van Pelt, Charles Van Pelt, Jr., 

Daniel Van Pelt, Garret Jones. 

Forty-eight in all. The membership March, 1876, was 136. 

The following are the names of the pastors since its organ- 
ization : 

The first was Rev. Z. P. Wilds, from April 1, 1857, to June, 
1858. 

The second was Rev. J. N'. Tolman, from December 16, 
1858, to December 80, 1860. 

The third was Rev. G-. W. Folwell, from January to Sep- 
tember, 1861. 

The fourth was Rev. J. L. Benedict, from January, 1862, 
to June, 1864. 

The fifth was Rev. J. J. Brouner, from June, 1864, to Jan- 
uary, 1869. 

The sixth was Rev. W. B. Harris, from March, 1869, to 
January, 1872. 

The seventh was Rev. J. W. Taylor, from March, 1872, to 
April, 1875. 

The eighth was Rev. Charles F. Hull, from July, 1875, and 
is the present pastor (March, 1877). 



GRANITEVILLE BAPTIST CHURCH. 

This church claims to be the continuation of the original 
church in the Clove ; it was dedicated March, 31st 1842, and 
rebuilt in 1858. Rev. Samuel White officiated as its pastor 
until his death, which occurred on the twenty- seventh anni- 
versary of his settlement. 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 2S7 

He was succeeded by the Rev. D. Bennet Patterson, who 
was installed pastor March 23d, 1863. 

The Rev. Duncan Young became pastor September 8th, 
1872. 

The present incumbent, Rev. G. J Gannon, commenced his 
labors January 1st, 1876. 

The present number of members is 58. 



THE SOUTH BAPTIST CHURCH. 

This church was organized at Tottenville, December 11th, 
1859, and their house of worship was erected early in 1860 ; 
the commodious lecture-room attached to the main building 
was erected in November, 1870. 

The constituent members were : 

John Tucker, Mrs. S. B. Hazleton, 

S. B. Hazleton, Mrs. Mary Wrifle, 

Geo. D. Fisher, Isabella Ayr, 

William Cooley, Mrs. J. H. Cole, 

Mrs. Isabella Fisher, Mrs. Ann Storer, 

Mrs. Sarah A. Ellis, Mrs. S. D. Heed. 

The pastors of the church since its organization have been 
as follows : 

Rev. T. W. Conway, from Jan. 11th, 1860. 
" Arthur Day, from Nov. 1860. 
" William James, from March, 1865, to Feb., 1866. 
" William B. Harris, from March, 1867, to March, 1869. 
" David Taylor, from June, 1869, to June, 1870.' 
" Robert Bocock, from July, 1870, to October, 1871. 
" J. W. Brinckerhoff, from Sept., 1, 1875, and since. 



There is a small Baptist Church at Kreischerville, between 
Rossville and Tottenville, built about 1845, but is at present 
without a pastor. 



288 ANNALS OF STATE1ST ISLAND. 



THE METHODIST CHURCH. 

The introduction of Methodism upon Staten Island is due 
to the preserving efforts of a few zealous individuals con- 
nected with the denomination in New Jersey and elsewhere. 
The first Methodist sermon preached on Staten Island was in 
November, 1771, by Francis Asbury,* in the house of one 
Peter Van Pelt, only twelve days after his arrival in America. 

It is to the unwearied labors of Thomas Morrell and Robert 
Cloud, two preachers attached to the Elizabethtown circuit, 
that this church is chiefly indebted for its organization. Of 
Morrell it is said that he had been a soldier, and bore upon 
his person scars of wounds received in fighting for his country. 
He was also a man of more than ordinary abilities and ac- 
quirements. Of the local preachers, William Cole f was most 
prominent, and during the intervals between the visits of the 
itinerants, frequently officiated in private houses, school- 
houses, barns or any other place that offered. 

On the fifth day of May, 1787, the first Methodist Society 
on Staten Island was organized, and the following persons 
were elected Trustees to take care of the temporalities of the 
church, viz.: Abraham Cole, (at whose house the meeting 
was held ;) Benjamin Drake and John Hillier, first class, to 
serve one year ; Gilbert Totten, John Slaight and Joseph 
Wood, second class, to serve two years ; Joseph Totten, Elias 
Price and Israel Dissosway, third class, to serve three years. 

Measures were then adopted to erect a house of worship, 
and the following appeal to the Christian community was 
promulgated : 

"To all Charitable, well-disposed Christians of every de- 
nomination on Staten Island. Whereas the Inhabitants on 
the West end of said Island are destitute of any Place of 
Public Worship, so that numbers, more especially of the 
poorer and middling ranks of People who have not Carriages, 
&c, are necessarily precluded from attending the Worship of 

* Vide App. N. (59.) f Ibid. (60.) 



ANNALS OF STATE1ST ISLAND. 289 

God in a Public manner, their Children also lose the benefit 
of Public Instruction, and it is to be feared the Consequence 
will be to the rising Generation a settled Contempt for the 
worship of God and the ordinances of the House. 

To remedy as far as human prudence can Extend the afore- 
said, and many other Inconveniences that might be named, 
the members of the Methodist Episcopal Church on said 
Island have chosen trustees agreeable to Law in order to 
Erect a Church for the Performance of Divine Service, and 
tis Supposed by the Blessing of God this may be the means of 
not only benefitting the present Generation, but that Numbers 
Yet unborn may have reason to Praise God for the pious 
Care of their forefathers. But as this will be Attended with 
a heavy Expence, to which the members of said Church are 
Inadequate, they hereby Respectful solicit the Donation of 
all such who are willing to promote so Laudable an Under- 
taking, we therefore the subscribers do hereby promise to 
pay or cause to be paid to the said Trustees or any Person 
Impowered by them to receive it, the sums affixed to our Sev- 
eral names, as Witness our Hands this Seventh day of June, 
In the Year of our Lord one Thousand Seven Hundred and 
Eighty -seven." 

Then follows the names of eighty-seven contributors, whose 
united subscriptions amount to nearly $350. The largest 
contributors are Gilbert Totten, £8, ($20) ; Israel Disosway, 
£15, ($87.50) ; Benjamin Drake,* £8, ($20) ; Mark Disosway, 
£5, ($12.50) ; Peter Woglom, £6, ($15) ; Joshua Wright, £5, 
($12.50) ; Jacob Reckhow, £5, John Androvat, £5, Peter 
Winant, Sr., £4.15, ($11.87£) ; John Slaght, £4.15. Among 
the subscribers we find the names of individuals attached to 
other churches, such as Bedells, Swains, Taylors, Larzeleres, 
Micheaus, La Tourettes, Mersereaus, Pralls, Conner, &c. 

It is said of Israel Disosway, that in addition to his sub- 
scription, which is the largest on the list, he gave the timber 
for erecting the new church, out of his own woods. Not- 

* Vide App. N. (61.) 



290 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

withstanding he was so prominent in the organization of the 
new church, and for several years held the office of trustee 
therein, he never severed his connection with the old John 
Street Church in New York ; in May, 1791, we find that 
"Nicholas Crockshon was elected in the place of Israel 
Disosway, who has removed from the Island." 

With the small sum realized by the subscriptions just men- 
tioned, the first Methodist Church on Staten Island was built 
on the site now occupied by the Woodrow Church in West- 
field. 

That the trustees took excellent care of the temporalities 
of the church, will be perceived from the following extract 
from the original "Day Book :" 

"At a meeting held in the Methodist Church for chosing 
a Saxon to serve for one year in said church to keep said 
house swept and sanded and scruped when the Trustees shall 
direct, and all other necessary dutys of a saxon for the sum 
of five dollars; Richard Mier was chosen and accepted." 
Subsequently, the "saxon" was allowed one shilling "for 
every fire he makes in the stove," additional. 

In 1842 the present church edifice was erected on the site 
of the former.* ^ 

On the twelfth day of February, 1822, at a meeting held at 
the house of James Totten, it was unanimously resolved to 
build another house of worship, in the town of Westfield, to 
be called " The Tabernacle." A church appears to have been 
organized, and trustees duly elected. In August, 1823, a 
public meeting was held "in the Tabernacle;" the edifice 
must therefore have been erected immediately. 

In 1841 the membership had increased to such a number 
that it was found convenient to erect another church and 
organize another society in Tottenville, which is now known 
as "The Bethel Church." In 1860 it was found necessary 
to build still another church, which is now known as "St. 
Paul's," in Tottenville. 

* Vide App. N. (62.) 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 291 

The early Methodists, however, did not confine their efforts 
to the town of Westfield ; for, not long after they had become 
domiciled there, a small class, under the leadership of Elias 
Price, who afterwards became a local preacher, was organized 
in the Town of Northfield, which, in 1802, had expanded 
sufficiently to warrant the creation of a new society, and the 
erection of a new church, which now is recognized as the 
Asbury Church at New Springville. For more than thirty 
years this church was the only place of public worship pos- 
sessed by the Methodists of Northfield and Castleton. In 
1838 those residing along the shore, in both towns, began to 
agitate the matter of building a new church nearer their own 
residences, and at or near Grraniteville. The next year Mr. 
Robert C. Simonson offered a lot of land on the Pond Road, 
Port Richmond, as a free gift, if they would erect a church 
thereon. This offer was at once accepted by those residing in 
that vicinity, and the proposed church at Grraniteville was 
abandoned. The Methodists of Mariners' Harbor then re- 
solved, inasmuch as a church for their accommodation had 
become a necessity, to erect one nearer their own homes. 
Accordingly, on the sixth day of April, 1839, a new society 
was organized by the election of Peter Braisted, Henry Jones, 
Benjamin B. Kinsey, John L. Richards, and Daniel Simonson, 
as Trustees. The certificate of incorporation was recorded on 
the fourth day of May following, and immediately thereafter 
— that is, on the eleventh of the same month — a lot was pur- 
chased for the consideration of $275, and on the twentieth a 
contract was made to erect a building for the purpose of pub- 
lic worship. During the following six months the church was 
erected, and on the first day of December, 1839, it was dedi- 
cated. For several years the same preacher served this 
church, and the one on "the Neck," (now Asbury,) but in 
1849 the connection was severed, and each church became in- 
dependent of the other. In 1854 a parsonage was purchased. 
The membership of the church having rapidly increased, it 
was found necessary to erect a new and larger house, which 
was accordingly done, and the new edifice was dedicated the 



292 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

tenth day of October, 1869, which has since been known as 
the Snmmerfield Chnrch. The old church, which is the 
southwesternmost building within the corporate limits of the 
Village of Port Richmond, was sold for $1,500, and is now 
occupied as an African church. 

In July, 1872, the church known as St. Marks, at Pleasant 
Plains, was dedicated. For a brief period it was considered 
as under the patronage and supervision of the Woodrow 
Church ; but in 1873 it became an independent organization. 

The Methodists of Port Richmond and its vicinity, having 
accepted the offer of Mr. Robert C. Simonson to give them a 
lot upon condition of building a church thereon, he conveyed 
it to them December 1st, 1838 ; and the church was dedicated 
early in the winter of 1839. This continued to be their house of 
worship until 1853, when they erected the large and com- 
modious brick church edifice at the corner of the Shore Road 
and Dongan Street, West New Brighton. The original 
building and lot was sold April 28th, 1853, to the Gferman 
Evangelical Lutherans for the sum of $1,500. The new church 
took the name of Trinity, and was incorporated under that 
name January 10th, 1853, the trustees being Jasper Gr. Codmus, 
John W. Snedeker, Lewis Edwards, Azariah Dunham and 
John Simonson. The land upon which the present church 
and parsonage is built, constituted the lots numbered 45 and 
46 of the estate of John Bodine, Sen., and was purchased of 
Noyes P. H. Barrett, June 25th, 1851, Jasper Gr. Codmus, 
John W. Snedeker, Lewis Edwards and John Simonson 
being trustees. It was subsequently discovered that the title 
was defective, inasmuch as the land was conveyed to the 
above named persons individually, and before the incorpora- 
tion ; therefore on the 10th day of July, 1869, the same 
individuals quit- claimed the property to the Trustees of 
Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church, and thus remedied the 
defect. The bell and clock in the tower of this church were 
procured by the contributions of the people residing in its 
vicinity. The membership in March, 1876, was about 224. 

January 23d, 1867, forty-eight persons, the most of them 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 293 

seceders from Trinity M. E. Church, convened in the North 
Baptist Church, Port Richmond, and were then and there 
constituted by the presiding elder into a new church or society, 
to be called "The North Shore Free M. E. Church." 

On the 27th of the same month, the first Sabbath services 
of the new church were held in the Baptist Church. 

The first trustees were Read Benedict, Ward McLean, John 
Q. Simonson, William Greer, Noyes P. H. Barrett, John 
S. Sprague, William Bamber, Dr. F. Gf. Johnson and George 
F. Heal ; their first meeting was held Feb. 18th, 1867. 

The corner-stone of the new church, now known as " Grace 
Church," was laid August 1st, 1867, and the church was 
dedicated December 29th, 1867. The church lot is bounded 
on the North by Bond street, on the South by Cornelius 
street, and on the West or front by Heberton street. The 
present number of members (April, 1876) was 150. 

We have been unable to procure a connected history of the 
Methodist Church at Edgewater ; the church building stands 
on Cebra Avenue, and was erected in 1865, and rebuilt in 
1870. 



LUTHERAN CHURCHES. 

The German Evangelical Lutheran Church of St. John, 
U. A. C.,* at Port Richmond, was organized October 17th, 
1852. 

The original members were : 

John Rathyen, John C. Schiegel, 

Paul Schmidt, Aug. Senne, 

Charles Keutgen, J. H. Matthius, 

John Hettsche, Diedrich Senne, 

Carl Senne, Gottlieb Bertsch, 

A. Knopp, Carl Neidthart, 

Ernst Senne, Adam Fuegel, 

Louis Koenig, A. Hulsebus. 

* Vide App. N. (63.) 



294 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

The pastors of the Church have been as follows : 

1. Bernard de Schweinitz. 

2. Fr. Boeling, from 1853 to 1855. 

3. H. Roel, from 1855 to 1856. 

4. J. F. C. Hennicke, from 1856 to 1857. 

5. K. Goehling, from 1858 to 1859. 

6. M. Termenstein, from 1860 to 1867. 

7. J. E. Gottlieb, from 1867 to 1875. 

8. C. Frincke, Jr., Dec. 5, 1875, present pastor. 
The present membership is forty. 

There is a parochial school connected with the Church under 
the supervision of the pastor. 

The Church Edifice was purchased from the Methodists. 
(See Trinity M. E. Church.) 

There is a Lutheran Church at Edgewater, of which we have 
been unable to procure information, notwithstanding we have 
made repeated efforts to do so. It has a parish school con- 
nected with it. 



UNITARIAN. 

THE CHURCH OF THE REDEEMER. 

"The First United Independent Christian Church of Staten 
Island," was organized at the house of Minthorne Tompkins 
in Stapleton, February 19th, 1851, by the election of Dr. A. 
Sidney Doane, Minthorne Tompkins, Daniel Low, F. S. 
Hagadorn, William Emerson, P. C. Cortelyou, John C. 
Thompson, H. M. Harding, John Crabtree, A. J. Hamilton, 
John Bendernagel and Philip Bender, as trustees. This 
Society held their meetings at the Lyceum in Stapleton, 
where the Reverend Messrs. Bellows, Chapin and Osgood 
often kindly officiated until the Rev. John Parkman, of Bos- 
ton, who had recently become a resident of the Island, 
accepted the charge. 



ANNALS OP STATEN ISLAND. 295 

On the 21st of September of the same year, 1851, "The 
Congregational Church of the Evangelists of New Brighton' ' 
was established by the initiative of Messrs. James Parker, 
Lucius Tuckerman, W. C. Gfoodhue, Gfeorge W. Jewett, 
John Crabtree, A. J. Hamilton, George A. Ward, Robert C. 
Goodhue, William W. Russell, Smith Ely, S. M. Elliott, 
John D. Sloat, J. E. Kunhardt, William F. Cary, John 
Jewett, Jr., L. G. Wyeth and Mrs. M. Pendleton. This 
society held their meetings at the Belmont House, New 
Brighton, Mr. Parkman preaching on alternate Sundays 
there and at the Lyceum, for about six months, when, unable 
to obtain a suitable place for worship, the organization was 
dissolved, and the members joined the congregation. Mr. 
Parkman was called to the pastorate of the united body, and 
the name of the corporation was changed to that of "The 
Church of the Redeemer." Messrs. Daniel Low, George A. 
Ward, W. C. Goodhue, John F. Raymond, Lucius Tucker- 
man, H. M. Harding, A. J. Hamilton, John Crabtree, and 
Daniel G. Garrison being the Board of Trustees. A build- 
ing for church purposes was erected on Richmond Turnpike 
at the foot of Cebra Avenue, an isolated situation, apparently 
selected because, being about equi-distant from the several 
villages, it was not more inconvenient to one than to another. 
It was dedicated June 29th, 1853. The church flourished 
and increased, and it was thought necessary to enlarge the 
building. This was done, and the number of pews almost 
doubled. 

In a comparatively short time, however, the disadvantages 
of the situation became more and more manifest ; the roads 
were bad, and there were no sidewalks ; most of the congre- 
gation lived at a distance ; access to the church was difficult, 
almost impracticable at seasons to those on foot ; the zeal of 
many of the original members diminished, some died, more 
left the Island, and their places remained empty. Mr. Park- 
man, with his family, went to Europe, and was succeeded 
temporarily by Rev. Charles Ritter, and by Rev. R. P. Cut- 
ler, and finally in November, 1865, after an unsuccessful 



296 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

attempt to induce Mr. Parkman, on his return to Boston 
from Europe, to resume his former charge, the church was 
closed, the building sold and removed, the land also sold, and 
the proceeds invested in U. S. Bonds. The corporation was 
continued, however, and its members patiently awaited the 
time when more favorable circumstances should call it to re- 
newed activity. That time came in 1868, when the population 
of New Brighton, having greatly increased, Rev. W. R. G. 
Mellen, then Secretary of the Hudson River Conference, be- 
ing informed of the disbanded state of the society, determined 
to gather the congregation together, and attempt its re-organi- 
zation. Meetings were held at the Union Sunday School 
Room in New Brighton, at which he conducted the services, 
and after much patient and earnest endeavor on his part, the 
desired result was attained. A re- organization was effected, 
and Messrs. Daniel Low, George W. Jewett, John C. Hender- 
son, Charles C. Gfoodhue, G-eorge W. Curtis, John H. Piatt, 
Edward B. Merrill, J. Frank Emmons, and Andrew M. F. 
Davis, were chosen Trustees. A lot of land on the corner of 
Clinton Avenue and 2d street, New Brighton, was purchased, 
and a church edifice erected thereon at the cost of nearly 
$15,000. The larger part of this snm was paid by the funds 
in hand and by subscriptions, but a debt of nearly $6,000 
remained. 

Rev. W. C. Badger was called to the pastorate, but was 
compelled by ill health to resign in about eighteen months. 
The pulpit was afterwards supplied by different clergymen 
for a while, but for several months the services were conducted 
by Mr. George W. Curtis, who read such printed sermons as 
he judged would interest and help the congregation. In May, 
1871, Rev. W. R. C. Mellen, who had, in the meanwhile, 
been preaching at Detroit, was settled as pastor, and remained 
in charge until May, 1874, when circumstances compelled 
him to resign. Since when, the services have been principally 
and gratuitously conducted by Mr. Curtis, in the manner 
above mentioned, to the continued delight and satisfaction of 
the hearers. 



ANNALS OF STATEN" ISLAND. 297 

During this period a fine organ has been purchased and 
paid for, mainly through the exertion of Mr. J. W. Simonton, 
who had gratuitously conducted the musical services of the 
congregation since the re-organization ; the debt has been 
paid off, Mr. Daniel Low, recently deceased, having con- 
tributed largely for this purpose, and the society has been 
enabled to give assistance to other weak churches, and to de- 
serving charities. 

The present trustees are Messrs. J. C. Henderson, George 
W. Curtis, J. W. Simonton, George F. Hicks, J. Frank Em- 
mons, Mrs. W. T. Johnson, Mrs. C. C. Goodhue, Mrs. J. D. 
Vermeule and Mrs. Chas. R. Lowell. 

The revenues of the Church of the Redeemer are raised by 
subscription and not from the rent of pews, the seats being 
absolutely free. All persons of both sexes, of full age, who 
have been stated attendants on worship with the society for 
one year, and have contributed five dollars annually to its 
treasury, are entitled to take part, and to vote at all its pro- 
ceedings. 

Note.-r The above is from the pen of a member of the con- 
gregation. 



THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 

The first Roman Catholic Church on Staten Island was or- 
ganized on the first day of April, 1839, at New Brighton. 
For some time prior to this, however, a few individuals 
professing this faith, assembled regularly every week in a 
small apartment of the "Gun Factory," an establishment 
which stood at the corner of Richmond Terrace and Lafayette 
Avenue, and consisted of the Factory proper and a row of 
brick two-story cottages. The ground upon which the church 
(St. Peter's) was built, was donated for the purpose by the 
New Brighton Association, and will revert when it ceases to be 
used for a church of that faith. 

The first pastor was Rev. Ildefonso Medrano, a native of 



298 ANNALS OF STATEJST ISLAND. 

Old Spain ; he remained until December, 1845, and was suc- 
ceeded by Rev. John Shanahan, whose brief pastorate termi 
nated August, 1846. Rev. James Rosevelt Bailey was the 
next pastor for a still briefer period, from August to December, 
1846. He was afterwards Bishop of Newark, and is now 
Archbishop of Baltimore. Then came Rev. Patrick Murphy, 
who was pastor from March, 1846, to February 11th, 1848, 
when he died of yellow fever, and was interred under the 
altar. He was immediately succeeded by his brother, Rev. 
Mark Murphy, who was succeeded by the present incumbent, 
Rev. James L. Conron, in August, 1852. 

The two brothers Murphy were remarkably quiet, unas- 
suming, and faithful men. In the church is a mural tablet 
to the memory of Patrick, in the following words : 

" Hie Jacet 
In Spem Beatse Resurrectionis 

Rev dua Patricius Murphy, 

Presbyter Primus, ut creditur, 

Qui in hac Insula Mortuus est. 

In Hibernia natus juxta oppidum 

Enniskillen, Seminarii S tffi Maria 

Ad Montes Aluminus, et in Neo- 

Eboraco ordinatus, pastor 

Ecclesise hujus et Insulge 

Totius Constitutus est. Ubi 

Morum suavitate, Vitse integritate, 

Zelo et eloquentia pro Deo et 

Sancta Fide, ita se commendavit ut 

Ab omnibus vere bonus pastor, et 

Quasi Apostolus Insulse haberetur, 

Lahore tandem et morbo gravi. 

Oppressus, Anno setatis suse 30 m0, 

Mense post ordinationem 15 mo - die ll mo - 

Februarii 1848, animam Deo reddidit, 

Memoriam sui relinquens non cito 

Perituram, sed quae diu inter 

Fideles in benedictione 

Servabitur. 



Requiescat in Pace." 



ANNALS OF STATED" ISLAND. 299 

{Translation.) 

Here lies, 

In the hope of a blessed resurrection, 

Reverend Patrick Murphy, 

Believed to be the first priest 

Who died on this Island. 

Born in Ireland, near the town of 

Enniskillen, graduate of Mount St. Mary's Seminary, 

And ordained in New York, and 

Appointed pastor of this Church, and 

Of this whole Island, where, 

By the amiability of his disposition and integrity of his life, 

Zeal and eloquence for God, and 

Holy faith, he so commended himself, that 

By all he was considered a truly good pastor, and 

As it were, the Apostle of the Island. 

At length, worn down by labor and a fatal disease, 

His soul returned to God, 

In the thirtieth year of his age, and the 

Fifteenth month after his ordination, 

February the 11th, 1848 ; 

Leaving a memory not soon to be 

Forgotten, but which shall long remain 

Among the faithful in benediction. 



May he rest in peace. 



ST. MARY'S CHURCH, CLIFTON. 

In October, 1852, this parish and congregation were organ- 
ized by the late Archbishop Hughes, and the Rev. J. Lewis 
was appointed pastor thereof, and has continued in the same 
pastorate ever since. 

Immediately after his appointment, Father Lewis erected a 
temporary chapel and schools at a cost of about $6,000 ; these 
were used for five years. 

In 1857, Archbishop Hughes laid the corner-stone of St. 
Mary's Church, on New York Avenue, and the edifice was 



300 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

completed the following year, and cost about $58,000 ; it is 
the handsomest Catholic Church on Staten Island. 

In 1858 and 1859 the rectory adjoining the church was built 
at a cost of $10,000. 

In 1862 Father Lewis purchased seven acres of land of the 
Parkinson estate in Southfield, and laid it out as a Cemetery ; 
he also built upon it a neat cottage for the keeper' s residence. 

A large school-house, an orphan asylum for the parish, a 
residence for the Sisters of Charity, and another for the male 
teachers of the school, were built in 1864, at a cost of about 
$36,000. These schools are probably the largest on the Isl- 
and ; the books show a daily attendance of nearly four hun- 
dred pupils, who are gratuitously instructed by five Sisters 
of Charity and two lay teachers, under the supervision of the 
pastor. Father Lewis is entitled to commendation for his 
zeal and fidelity in his efforts to promote the spiritual and 
temporal interest of his parishioners. 



ST. JOSEPH'S CHURCH, ROSSVILLE. 

This church was built in 1851, and for three years thereafter 
was under the care of the church at Clifton. About 1854 

Rev. Caro became its pastor, and was succeeded by 

the Rev. Bernard McCrossen in 1857. He remained until 
1859, when the Rev. John Barry became its pastor, and is the 
present incumbent. 

St. Patrick's Church at Richmond was built in 1861, and 
owes its existence to the persevering efforts of Father Barry, 
who is its present pastor. 

St. Mary's Church at Graniteville was built about 1851, 
solely by contributions from the laborers in the granite quarry 
in its vicinity. For some time, and until 1854, it was under 
the care of Rev. Mark Murphy, of St. Peter's Church, New 
Brighton. About the latter date it was annexed to the church 
at Rossville, St. Joseph' s, and still remains connected there- 
with. 



"J." 



BIOGRAPHIES. 



302 ANJSTALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 



INDIVIDUALS. 

' Aeeowsmith. — Of this name there were two on the Island 
during the first half of the last century — Thomas and Edmond.' 
They were Englishmen, and appear to have aspired to an 
aristocratic position in society. Their public services were 
chiefly of a military character. 

Banckee. — This was a very prominent and influential 
family in its day. Adrian was a member of the Provincial 
Congress in 1775, Member of Assembly 1784, and Surrogate 
in 1787 ; he died in that office Sep. 30, 1792, and was succeed- 
ed by his son Abraham, who held the office until 1809 ; he 
had been sheriff in 1784. Adrian had a brother Gerard also 
living on the Island. 

Beatty. — John, and his son Edward, who died July 17, 
1825, aged over 81 years. They owned the property lying 
between the Moravian Church and the Patten House, and 
were prominent as friends and supporters of that church. 

Billop. — The name is introduced here only to notice the 
fact that Col. Christopher, so eminently notorious during the 
Revolution, had a son John Willett, bap. June 11, 1769, of 
of whom we hear nothing more. If living at the time of the 
evacuation of the Island, he was a lad of 14 or thereabouts, 
and probably accompanied his father to the British pos- 
sessions. 

Doeland. — In the latter part of the 17th century, we meet 
the name of Lambert Dorland frequently. He was a member 
of the Colonial Assembly in 1691, and therefore must have 
been a man of considerable importance. The name has now 
entirely disappeared from the Island. 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 303 

Ducstn. — In our local records, church or county, this name 
occurs only in connection with a single individual who is 
designated as John Dunn, Esq. He appears to have been a 
man of superior acquirements, and was twice elected Member 
of Assembly from the county, 1804 and 1805. He died Dec. 
21, 1826, aged 57 years. Mrs. Abm. Housman, of Port 
Richmond, is his only surviving child in the county. 

GfiFFORD. — This name also occurs in the records only with 
reference to a single individual, as early as 1770. He was a 
man of considerable influence, and his name is perpetuated 
in. the public road called from him, Gilford's Lane, near 
Richmond. 

Haeeison. — John Talbot Harrison, M.D., was born Oct. 2, 
1785, and died Mar. 6, 1863. His appointment as Health 
Officer of the port introduced him to the Island, where he 
subsequently took up his residence. He was a Member of 
Assembly for the county in 1830 and 1831, Presidential 
Elector in 1840, and member of the State Constitutional Con- 
vention in 1845. He was highly respected as a man and as 
a physician. He was the father of H. R. Harrison, M.D., 
Port Richmond. 

Le Count, or Le Conte, John — Was a man of great in- 
fluence in the county early in the last century; he was a 
member of the Colonial Assembly in 1726, and again in 
1756 ; he was also County Judge from 1739 to 1756. 

Maelet. — There were two brothers of this name, Paul and 
Abraham, residing in the county between 1680 and 1700 ; they 
possessed considerable property, but the name has become 
extinct. They both appear to have been highly respected in 
their day and generation. 

Miciieau. — During the last half of the last century, and the 
beginning of the present, there were several families of this 



304 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

name in the county, some of whom were men exceedingly 
popular. The first of the name, Paul,* was sheriff, in 1736, 
and member of the Colonial Assembly from 1748 to 1751 ; his 
son Paul, however, appears to have been a great favorite with 
the people of the county ; he was chosen to the Provincial 
Congress in 1775 — '6 ; County Clerk for 20 years from 1761 ; 
County Judge for 11 years from 1786, and State Senator from 
1789 to 1792. His son Paul J. was Member of Assembly 
1798— '9 1802— '3, and Benjamin, County Treasurer in 1787. 
There was never a more popular or influential family in the 
county, but they have all disappeared. They were residents 
of Westfield. 

Beside the above, there were individuals and families who 
once exerted a powerful influence in the county, who have 
now totally disappeared ; among them are the names of Berge, 
Adriance, Stoothoff, Veghte, Vanderbeck, Staats, Veltman, 
Clendening, Gfarrabrantz, Hoogland, Ralph, Jenners, Van 
Wagenan, Slecht, Carenton, Spier, Hafte, Swaim, Nefius, 
Eyke, Schouten, Gfray, Zutphen, Rykman, Van Engelen, 
Metzelaer, Van Tuyl, Pryor, Jurks, De Grammeaux, Vander- 
hoven, Richaud, Wimmer, Caspers, Facker, Van Dyck, Sim- 
senbach, Brebant Bosler, Tillburgh, Van Brakel De Camp. 
Carhart, Corbitt, Tillou, etc., etc. 



NICHOLAS GARRISON 



The subject of this sketch was born on Staten Island in 1701. 
After the establishment of the Episcopal Church on the Island, 
his parents connected themselves therewith, and, in the early 
history of St. Andrew's Church, we find the name of Lambert 
Garrison, who was the father of Nicholas. In his thirteenth 
year he went to sea, and, after a sea-faring life of eight years, 
he came to New York, and took the command of a vessel in 
the West India trade. While thus engaged he met Spangen- 

* Vide App. N. (64.) 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 305 

berg, in October, 1736, on the island of St. Eustace, and it 
was on board of his ship, on which the latter had taken pas- 
sage for New York, that he first began to be attracted towards 
the people with whom he subsequently cast in his lot. 

On a voyage to Jamaica, in 1740, his vessel was taken by a 
Spanish man-of-war, and himself and crew carried to Cuba, 
where they were imprisoned for more than a year. In 1742 
he sailed for the West Indies for the last time ; he had not, 
however, forgotten the new attachment which he had formed ; 
he had met Count Zinzendorf on the island of St. Thomas in 
December, 1738, and in January of 1743 he welcomed him to 
his home on Staten Island. It was here that Garrison con- 
sented to accompany the Count to Europe, and take charge 
of the vessel, by which he designed to send a reinforcement 
of brethren and sisters to Pennsylvania. 
- In pursuance of this object, he embarked with Zinzendorf 
and his company, January 20, 1743, on board the ship 
"Jacob," Capt. Ketteltas, for London ; thence he crossed to 
the continent and arrived at Marienborn in March, and was 
there admitted to church fellowship. In the following June, 
he returned to England to complete his arrangements for the 
transportation of the colonists mentioned above, and took 
command of a vessel called "The Little Strength." 

The ship, on her voyage to America, was captured, but her 
crew and passengers were exchanged ; but whether they ever 
reached America is uncertain, though Garrison did, for in 
April, 1745, we find him accompanying Boehler, Anthony 
Seyffert Aimers, and Pryzelius, to Europe, on the ship called 
" The Queen of Hungary," Captain Hilton. This vessel, also, 
was captured by a French privateer off the Scilly Islands, and 
taken into the harbor of St. Malo. In consequence of this 
delay, it was June before Garrison reached Marienborn. Here 
he remained during 1746. In 1747 he took command of a 
ship which had been fitted out with supplies and timber for 
the Hernhutt Mission, in Greenland. On his return, he was 
appointed to the command of a snow, which was then build- 
ing for the brethren on Staten Island. Accordingly, he sailed 



306 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

for New York, and reached his home on the Island in June, 
1748. The snow, called "The Irene," went to sea for the 
first time September 8, 1748. The next year he made a voy- 
age with the Irene to Greenland. In 1756 he resigned the 
command of the vessel in favor of his trusty mate, Christian 
Jacobson, and went to Germany. Though he had resolved 
to abandon the sea, he was prevailed upon to visit Dutch 
Guiana, and effect the purchase of lands on the Corentyn and 
Rio de Berbice, for the use of the brethren's mission. Re- 
turning to Germany, he settled at Neisky, or Neisse, in Prus- 
sian Silesia. In 1763 he left Europe, and selected Bethlehem, 
Pennsylvania, as the home of his declining years. It was he 
who gave the name of Neisky to the wooded heights that 
skirt the southern limits of the borough of Bethlehem, where 
the old sailor was wont to pass his leisure hours. He died 
September 24, 1781 ; his widow, Mary Ann, survived until 
1799. He made his will April 7, 1766, in which he makes be- 
quests to his sons Nicholas, John Lambert, and Benjamin, 
and to his wife the money due to him from the Diacony, or 
Economy, at Bethlehem. In January, 1769, he appended a 
codicil to his will, in which he speaks of his estate as nearly 
expended. 

We are not positively assured that the Lambert Garrison, 
whose name is mentioned in Queen Ann's charter of St. An- 
drew's Church, and who was sheriff of the county in 1702, 
was the father of Nicholas, but the probability is that he was, 
as we find the name Lambert among the sons of Nicholas. 



ABRAHAM JONES. 

By referring to our list of Members of Assembly, it will be 
seen that the name of this individual stands first, and that he 
was debarred from taking his seat in that body on account of 
his sympathy with the royal cause ; in other words, his lory 
proclivities. He was the owner of a large tract of land at 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 307 

the present New Springville, a part of which is now owned 
and occupied by his great grandson Hiram J. Corsen, Esq. 
He was very active in promoting the cause of the king, and 
thus rendered himself obnoxious to the whigs on the other 
side of the Sound. He held a commission as captain in the 
regiment of loyal provincials, or tories. The following anec- 
dote is related of him. One night a number of whigs, who 
had resolved to attempt his capture, crossed the Sound and 
made their way, undiscovered, to his house. Rapping loudly 
at the door, they awakened the captain, who raised the win- 
dow and inquired what they wanted. " Captain Jones/' 
replied one of them, "hurry down, the rebels are coming, 
and making for this house." Hastily dressing himself, he 
came out of the door and inquired where the rebels were ? 
"Here," said the first speaker, "here we are, and you must 
go with us." He had fallen into the trap prepared for him, 
and was carried into New Jersey. We are unable to state 
how long he was detained. At the close of the war many of 
the former tories on the Island took the oath of allegiance to 
the new government, and thus saved their estates. Whether 
Captain Jones did so, we do not know, but as his property 
was not confiscated, it is to be presumed he did. After the 
tory exodus to Canada, he went there also, for what purpose 
is not known, but he did not remain long ; on his homeward 
voyage he became ill, and died on board his ship, and was 
buried at sea. 



DAVID MERSEREAU. 

Among the prominent citizens of Staten Island of the past, 
may be mentioned the late David Mersereau, Esq. He was 
born about the year 1769, and died in April, 1835, aged sixty- 
six years. His remains lie interred in the burial ground of 
the Reformed Church at Port Richmond, near the southeast 
corner of the church, within a few feet of the public highway, 
and the spot is marked by a high marble monument. Early 



308 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

in life he married Cornelia, the daughter of Abraham Rolf, 
who owned and occupied the property lately belonging to the 
estate of Mrs. Jane Burger, on the Shore Road, in the 3d 
ward of the Village of New Brighton, through the middle of 
which the public road called Burger Avenue now runs. 
Shortly after his marriage he removed to Currituck, Virginia, 
where he opened a store, which, under the management of 
his wife, proved a success, Mr. Mersereau himself being oc- 
cupied with other pursuits. He remained at the South sev- 
eral years, and accumulated a considerable amount of money. 
Having concluded to return to the North, he and his family 
embarked on a small schooner, in the hold of which he had 
stowed his personal effects, with a quantity of staves on the 
deck. During the voyage they encountered a violent storm, 
which capsized the vessel, and all except Mr. Mersereau and 
his wife were drowned. By great exertion he succeeded in 
bringing her to the bottom of the vessel, from which she was 
repeatedly washed by the waves, but as often recovered by 
him. At length, totally exhausted, she slipped from the ves- 
sel, and sank beyond recovery. For forty-eight hours he 
clung to his precarious support, until a passing Philadelphia 
vessel, which he signalled by waving his coat, rescued him. 
This was not his only escape from a watery grave ; at one 
time he was thrown into the sea from a small boat, at the 
South, but escaped by swimming to the shore half a mile 
distant. At another time his boat was upset by a squall off 
Port Johnson, sometimes called "Rotten Meadow," but he 
was rescued by a passing vessel. 

In November, 1779, he purchased of his father-in-law Rolf 
the property above mentioned, containing 140 acres. The 
farm house, built by the father of Mr. Rolf, stood near the 
site of the present mansion house of Mrs. Bement, and after 
the fashion of the day was constructed of stone, long and 
low. 

The Burger house, which recently stood fronting the water, 
but now removed further up the Avenue, was built for Mr. 
Mersereau by John Hilleker, a builder of some note at that 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 809 

time. Here he lived with his mother for several years, until 
she married Peter Prall, who lived in the house now occupied 
by Eder Vreeland, Esq., not far from Graniteville. 

On this farm Mr. Mersereau built a tannery, which he 
placed under the superintendency of Stephen Wood. The 
tanner's house stood on, or very near the site of the residence 
of A. W. Sexton, and the remains of the vats were visible un- 
til recently. Mr. Mersereau' s second wife was Maria Bennett 
of Long Island, a sister of the wife of the late Rev. P. J. Van 
Pelt, D.D. By her he had but one child, a daughter who 
married Henry F. Heberton, Esq., of Philadelphia, and they 
were the parents of Mrs. C. J. Gfood and her sister Mrs. 
Curry, of Port Richmond. 

Beside the farm already mentioned, Mr. Mersereau 5 was the 
owner of several large and valuable parcels of real estate. 
At one time he owned all those lots lying between the Mill 
Road and the Pond, and extending from the Shore Road to 
the Post Farm. He also owned the mill afterwards known as 
Bodine's mill, and the property adjacent; he built another 
mill at the termination of the Old Place Road ; he also built 
the two brick houses on the Shore Road, Port Richmond, 
near Jewett' s White Lead Works, one of which he sold to - 
his brother-in-law, Dr. Van Pelt, and in the other he resided 
until he died. In connection with this house, he owned 30 
acres of land which his executors sold to Peter N. and Eder 
V. Haughwout, and which now constitutes an important and 
beautiful portion of the Village of Port Richmond. The 
large building usually known as the Port Richmond or Con- 
tinental Hotel, at one time belonged to him ; from the wharf 
in front of this hotel, John Ryers ran a ferry boat to New 
York, fare 25 cents. John Hilleker, who built the house 
next east of the brick house occupied by Mr. Mersereau, 
built a wharf nearly opposite his residence, the remains of 
which are still to be seen, from which he ran an opposition 
ferry, fare 18 cents. Mr. Mersereau bought both of these 
ferries, and ran his boats from the old wharf. At the time 
Ryers ran his ferry, the place was known as " Ryers' 



310 ANNALS OF STATED" ISLAND. 

Ferry;" after the change of owners, it was called " Mer- 
sereau's Ferry," by which name it was known until that of 
Port Richmond supplanted it. 

Mr. Mersereau was a very active and enterprising man, of 
a benevolent disposition, and exceedingly kind to his slaves, 
of whom he had several ; one of them, " Old Holly," may be 
remembered by some persons still living. 

The following characteristic anecdote is related of Mr. M. 
Early one morning a stranger was found lying on the old 
wharf at Port Richmond, who was either very ill, or by some 
means had been severely injured ; though still living, he was 
unconscious when found ; nobody recognized him or remem- 
bered ever to have seen him before. A great many people 
were naturally attracted to the spot, and among them Mr. 
Mersereau. The inquiry was, what was to be done with him ; 
one had no time to attend to him ; another had no accommoda- 
tions for him, and each looked on him and went on his way. 
At length a clergyman came to look at him, and when Mr. 
M. inquired what had better be done with the man, replied 
that he was unable to advise about the matter, and passed on. 
At length Mr. M. and a colored man were the only ones left 
with the stranger ; " Come," said he to his companion, "the 
priest and the Levite have looked upon him and gone on their 
ways ; we will be the Samaritans, and perform our duty as 
neighbors to the stranger," and they provided for his com- 
fort. 

Mr. M. was Member of Assembly from this County in 
1807-8 and '9, Supervisor of Northfieldin 1815, and for many 
years one of the Judges of the Court of Common Pleas. 



NATHAN BARRETT. 

Nathan Barrett was born on the second day of February, 
1795, in what is now the town of Hope, Waldo county, State 
of Maine, that State being then a territorial dependency of 



A1STNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 311 

Massachusetts. In early life he was apprenticed to a tanner, 
and served his full term of apprenticeship. During this 
period he was called upon to assist in defending the coast 
from the aggressions of the British, who were then menacing it, 
but he was never engaged in any important military enterprise. 
When he was "out of his time," an affection in one of his 
arms rendered him unable to follow the business to which he 
had been trained ; consequently, he entered into the employ- 
ment of a relative who carried on the dyeing business in 
Boston, where he learned to be a finisher. In 1819, w T hen the 
New York Dyeing and Printing Establishment was organized 
and located on Staten Island, he was one of the original 
stockholders, and was appointed superintendent of the 
finishing department. In 1832, he was appointed general 
superintendent of the works of the establishment, which he 
conducted with great ability, and to the great profit of the 
stockholders. In the autumn of 1851 , he resigned his posi- 
tion and severed his connections with the company, and im- 
mediately commenced the erection of the extensive dyeing- 
works on Cherry Lane, which went into operation March 
17th, 1852. This establishment was under his control and 
direction until July, 1865, on the 12th day of which month 
he sailed for Europe with the double purpose of improving 
his health, and acquiring information of the European im- 
provements in dyeing, and its kindred arts. During his 
absence he visited England, Scotland, Ireland and France, 
in which latter country he was taken seriously ill, and re- 
turned to England, and died in London on the 3d day of 
October, 1865. His remains were conveyed to his home, and 
interred in his family burial ground, in the Staten Island 
Cemetery, North Shore. 

In person, Col. Barrett was a large man, and dignified in 
his demeanor. In politics he professed to be a democrat, but 
refused to be bound by party ties. He had no political 
aspirations, though such was his popularity and acknowl- 
edged ability, that he might have attained high position had 
he desired it. He was twice supervisor of Castleton, and 



312 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

once superintendent of the poor of the county, and these 
were the highest political offices he was ever willing to ac- 
cept. He obtained his title of Colonel by being elected to 
that office by the Staten Island regiment. About 1832 he 
purchased the farm of Cornelius Britton on the North 
Shore, which extended from Broadway to near Taylor street ; 
the western portion of it he sold, and laid out the remainder 
into several streets, and a large number of lots, which is now 
known as " the village." 

During his term of service as supervisor, he initiated the 
proceedings against the corrupt "ring," which had so long 
preyed upon the county treasury, and as a superintendent of 
the poor, he happened to be " the right man in the right 
place." He found our county poor-house in a disgraceful 
condition ; the poor were not provided with knives, forks, or 
spoons, nor even with a table, but took their allotted portion 
of food, and slunk away into holes and corners to devour it 
like dogs ; there was no separate accommodations for the 
sexes, no conveniences for cleanliness, no provisions for 
educating the children, but all w T as disorder, confusion and 
filth. Col. Barrett soon inspired his associates with his spirit, 
and the necessary improvements were at once commenced ; 
new buildings were erected, and reformatory measures 
adopted in every department, and to the minutest details, 
and before his term expired he had succeeded in bringing 
the institution to its present respectable condition. 

He was liberal, bat unostentatious in his benefaction, up- 
right and consistent in his Christian deportment, and for 
several years before his decease, a member and an officer of 
Trinity Chapel, afterwards the Church of the Ascension. 
In every sense he was a public benefactor, an exemplary 
citizen, and a good man. 



CORNELIUS VANDERBILT. 

It is seldom, indeed, that individual enterprise and genius 
have accomplished results so important, so universally bene- 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 31 3 

licial not only to the individual himself, but to the commun- 
ity, to the country, and to the world, as in the instance of 
the individual whose name stands at the head of this sketch. 
Cornelius Vanderbilt was born on Staten Island, on the 
27th day of May, 1794. His father's family was of Holland 
descent, and had emigrated to America about the middle of 
the 17th century. His father, whose name was Cornelius also, 
was not remarkable for any peculiar traits of character, but 
was recognized as an industrious and honest man, engaged in 
agriculture chiefly. As there were no regular ferries estab- 
lished at that time between the Island and the city, he, as 
well as many others who were similarly engaged, owned a 
small sail-boat, or periaugua, with which to convey the pro- 
duce of his land to a market in the city. It was usual among 
the farmers on the Island, who were owners of these vessels, 
to accommodate their neighbors, who had none of their own, 
to convey their articles to market also, and this necessity 
finally led to the establishment of regular ferries. It would 
occupy too much of our space to describe the struggles of 
the boy Cornelius to become the owner of a boat of his own, 
and how he eventually succeeded, and how to his gratifica- 
tion and pride, he became "Captain Corneil" before he be- 
came a man. It would be interesting to trace the workings 
of his indomitable perseverance to force a way for himself 
through life, to their wonderful results, but we can only 
glance at the prominent events in his career. For several 
years he was engaged in carrying passengers and freight to 
and from the city and Long Island, accumulating and saving 
until, at the age of eighteen, he found himself the Captain 
and principal owner of one of the largest periauguas which 
navigated the bay, beside being interested in several others 
engaged in the same business. In December, 1813, he was 
married to Miss Sophia Johnson, also a native of the Island, 
and the next year removed his residence to New York. About 
this time he became owner and master of the largest and fast- 
est periaugua in the bay, which may be remembered by some 
yet living, as the "Dread." In 1815, he and his brother-in law, 



314 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

Capt. John De Foreest, built the schooner Charlotte, (so named 
after the Captain' s wife), which was regarded as something 
extraordinary at that time, and which proved to be a suc- 
cessful vessel. 

In 1817 he attracted the notice of Thomas Gibbons, who 
was engaged in carrying passengers between New York and 
Philadelphia in steamboats, which just then began to be ex- 
tensively employed, and was offered the situation of captain 
of one of them, still spoken of by those whose memories go 
back to that date, as "The Mouse in the Mountain," at a 
salary of one thousand dollars per } r ear. This was not half 
as much as he was making by his sailing vessels, but his clear 
head perceived that steam must eventually triumph ; he 
therefore accepted the offer, that he might render himself 
familiar with this new motive power. 

A few months after he had commenced his new career, he 
was assigned to a larger boat, "The Bellona," then just 
completed. Mr. Vanderbilt then removed to Elizabethport, 
and shortly after to New Brunswick, to which all Philadel- 
phia passengers were conveyed, and from which they were 
carried by coaches across the State. At the solicitation of 
his employer, he undertook to conduct the hotel, at which 
the passengers remained all night, in connection with the 
steamboat, and made both remunerative, which they had not 
been before. In 1827, he leased the Elizabethport and New 
York ferry from Mr. Gibbons for seven years, at the expira- 
tion of which the lease was renewed for seven years more. 
This also proved to be successful under his management. 

Having obtained the skill and experience which he had 
desired, he cut loose from Gibbons, though tempting offers 
were made to him to remain, and the man was master of 
himself again. 

Immediately he commenced building steamboats, and estab- 
lished lines on Long Island Sound and on the Hudson river, 
running in opposition to lines long established, but as his 
boats were better and faster, and his rates lower, success 
again crowned his efforts. The discovery of gold in Califor- 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 315 

nia, and the consequent rush to that country, suggested a new 
enterprise to his ever active mind, which culminated in the 
establishment of a route via Nicarauga, in July, 1851, with 
steamers on both oceans. In 1853 he sold his steamers to the 
Transit Company. About this time he built the ' ' North Star, ' ' 
and with his family made the tour of Europe in it. The 
vessel attracted the attention and admiration of the people 
and the press at every port at which she touched, and the 
man who could conceive the idea, and had the means of 
building such a vessel, which eclipsed all the barges of 
royalty, attracted no less attention and wonder. 

In 1855 he established a line of steamers from New York 
to Havre, which, like every enterprise that had felt the magic 
of his touch, proved eminently successful. Among these 
steamers was the Yanderbilt, which proved to be the swiftest 
ocean steamer afloat. 

In the Spring of 1862, unlike thousands of others who took 
advantage of the necessities of the country to promote their 
own personal interests, he gave the splendid steamer Yander- 
bilt to the Government, a most munificient and timely gift, 
which Congress recognized by a vote of thanks and of a gold 
medal. This steamer was of 5,000 tons burden, and cost eight 
hundred thousand dollars. 

During the time he was occupied in the steamboat business, 
he built and owned over one hundred steam vessels of all 
descriptions. 

The history of the life of such a man as Cornelius 
Yanderbilt, presents too many prominent points to be taken 
up and considered in detail, in a sketch necessarily brief : we 
can therefore but summarily glance at what remains to be 
narrated. 

Of late years he has gradually withdrawn himself from all 
connection with steamboat business, and turned his attention 
to railroads. In this, as in all else he ever undertook, he has 
not been content until he could stand at the head, and is now 
recognized as the railroad king of the country ; his influence 
is felt far and wide, and he has it in his power materially to 



316 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

affect the business of the country ; Wall Street quakes as he 
passes through it, for the keen and vigilant spirits of that 
habitation of Mammon recognize the presence of a master. 

The query naturally presents itself, wherein lies the secret 
of this extraordinary success? It cannot be ascribed to a 
combination of fortunate circumstances, for there was little 
or no failure in anything he undertook. Perhaps it lies in 
his power to judge more than in anything else. In the words 
of another, "He appears to possess an intuitive judgment of 
men and things. Consequently all his plans are first care- 
fully considered ; every possible contingency provided for, 
so that when he executes them he strikes with a strong arm, 
because a confident one." With such judgment, combined 
with energy and perseverance, success was the natural result. 

There is another feature in the character of Commodore 
Vanderbilt, which must not be overlooked ; he has not suf- 
fered his intercourse and struggles with the world to harden 
his heart or to extinguish the kindlier emotions of his nature ; 
it is said that when he returned from his European excursion 
in the North Star, the steamer was stopped when she arrived 
opposite the residence of his mother, and he went on shore to 
greet her first of all on his return. 

The rich are usually regarded as uncharitable ; it has even 
passed into a proverb that wealth is selfish, but to the rich 
men of the present generation, at least, the adage is not ap- 
plicable. Commodore Vanderbilt' s benefactions have not 
been ostentatious, but they have been numerous and valuable, 
to what extent will only be known when that day which shall 
reveal all things, shall have arrived. 

In the Moravian Cemetry on Staten Island, is an elegant and 
costly mausoleum, crowned with a beautiful marble statue 
of Grief. Within its granite walls lie enclosed the dust of 
many who were dear to him while they lived, and where his 
own venerable form is destined to repose in peace, when the 
strife of life is over. 

Since the above was written, Commodore Vanderbilt has 
departed this life. After a protracted illness, he died January 
4th, 1877. 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 31? 



DANIEL D. TOMPKINS. 



The subject of this sketch was born at Scarsdale, (Fox 
Meadows,) in the county of Westchester, N. Y., on the 21st 
day of June, 1774. He was the seventh son of Jonathan G. 
Tompkins, who was one of only three persons who adhered 
to the cause of the country during the Revolution in the town 
where they resided, and lived to see his son not only repeat- 
edly elected to the office of Governor of his native State, but 
elevated to the second office of the nation. Governor Tomp- 
kins was educated at Columbia College, and admitted to the 
bar in 1797. In 1798 he married Hannah, daughter of Mangle 
Minthorne, a wealthy resident of New York City, his wife, 
at the time of the marriage, being only sixteen years of age. 
He at once took a high stand in his profession. In 1801 he 
was chosen a representative of the city in the convention to 
revise the Constitution of the State. In 1802 he was elected 
a Member of the Legislature of the State. In 1804 he was ap- 
pointed a puisne Judge of the Supreme Court, to fill the va- 
cancy made by the election of Justice Morgan to the office of 
governor. In 1805 and -'6 he was a Member of Congress. In 
1807 he was elected Governor of the State over Morgan Lewis. 
The term of office of the governor then was three years, and 
in 1810 he was re-elected over Jonas Piatt. In 1813 he was 
re-elected over Stephen Yan Rensselaer. In 1816 he was 
again elected governor, Rufus King then opposing him. In 
1817 he was elected Yice- President of the United States, and, 
consequently, resigned the office of governor, and was suc- 
ceeded by John Taylor, then lieutenant-governor. In 1821 
he was chosen a delegate from the county of Richmond to the 
constitutional convention of the State ; of this body he was 
appointed president, and it was the last public office which 
he held. He died on the 11th day of June, 1825, at his resi- 
dence on Staten Island. 

In his official capacity during the last war with Great Brit- 
ain, he had frequent occasion to visit the military works at 



318 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

the Narrows, and thus became familiar with the beautiful 
sites on the Island. On the 12th of June, 1814, he made his 
first purchase of land in Richmond County ; it was a tract of 
forty-seven acres, covering a part of Tompkinsville. Subse- 
quently he bought several other parcels, until he became the 
owner of nearly seven hundred acres. The village which bore 
his name until it was absorbed by the corporations of New 
Brighton and Edgewater, was laid out by him, and the streets 
still known as Arietta, Minthorne, Griffen, Sarah Ann, and 
Hannah, were named after his children. About 1816, at his 
own personal expense, he laid out and opened the public 
road known as Richmond Turnpike across the Island, from 
the landing at Tompkinsville to the Blazing Star Ferry, now 
known as Linoleumville, a distance of over eight miles, to the 
width of four rods, and was instrumental in establishing a 
line of stages thereon, which, in connection with his own 
steamboat, the Nautilus, for many years was the route of 
travel between New York and Philadelphia. 

During his residence on the Island, he and his family 
worshipped in the Reformed Dutch Church at Port Richmond, 
until the church of the same denomination at Tompkinsville 
was built, upon land donated, and with funds largely con- 
tributed by himself. He was a warm friend of the pastor of 
that church, Rev, P. I. Van Pelt, D.D., and aided him 
liberally in his numerous benevolent enterprises. 

The last public effort of Governor Tompkins was the 
delivery of an oration in the church at Tompkinsville on the 
National Anniversary, 1823. 

Towards the close of his life he was doomed to suffer 
pecuniary embarrassments, owing to the tardy justice of his 
country, and though numerous obstacles were thrown in his 
way in his efforts to collect what was justly due to him, he 
finally triumphed over them all. 

A contemporary says of him: "We fondly turn our 
recollections towards him as one of the most amiable, 
benevolent and true-hearted men that ever lived. He bore 
the stamp of this feeling of kindliness towards his fellow 



AJ5TNALS OF STATED ISLAND. 319 

men, in his open and frank countenance, in his easy and 
unaffected address, in the very tones of his voice, in his every 
day intercourse with society." 

His remains were interred in the family vault in St. Mark' s 
Church, in the city of New York. 



SAMUEL RUSSELL SMITH, M.D. 

Dr. Smith was born at Waterbury, Connecticut, on the 
10th day of April, 1801. Of his early youth we know but 
little, but at the age of fourteen he became a clerk in a book- 
store in the city of New York. After serving in this capacity 
for a time, he entered the drug business, and at the same time 
commenced the study of medicine, which he prosecuted to a 
successful issue, graduating at the University of the State of 
New York, in the class of 1828. In May of that year, he 
came to Tompkinsville, and began the practice of his pro- 
fession, which he pursued successfully until his death, which 
occurred December 24th, 1851. 

In person, Dr. Smith was slightly under the ordinary 
stature ; of a frame by no means robust, but active in all his 
movements. His voice was soft and low, and a smile per- 
petually played upon his countenance, which was indicative 
of the kindness and benevolence of his heart. He devoted 
himself assiduously to his profession, in which he was 
remarkably successful. He was no respecter of persons, 
for all ranks and conditions of life equally received his atten- 
tions when required. As an instance of the goodness of his 
heart, the following anecdote is worthy of preservation. 

One cold winter night, after a more than ordinary fatiguing 
day's work, he was awakened by a loud rap at his door. 
Upon answering the call, he found a poor lighterman there, 
who said his wife required the doctor's services as soon as 
possible. " I will come immediately," was his reply. With- 
out delay he prepared himself to face the snow-storm, which 



820 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

was raging without, and hastened to the lighterman's dwell- 
ing. After he had performed the duty required of him, and 
as he was preparing to return to his home, the lighterman 
tendered him five silver dollars, at the same time remarking, 
" I have been saving up this money for several weeks, know- 
ing that I would soon need your services, but as there is but 
little doing in my business at this season of the year, it is 
all I have been able to raise." 

"No, no," replied the doctor, putting his hand behind 
him, " you need that money just now more than I do ; your 
expenses, in the present condition of your family, will be 
heavier than usual, so instead of taking your money, you 
must allow me to add to it," at the same time laying a five 
dollar bank note upon the table, and hurrying away to avoid 
hearing the poor man' s expressions of gratitude. This was 
so characteristic of the man, that when the recipient of the 
doctor's bounty related the circumstance to his fellows on the 
following morning, it created no surprise whatever, but one 
of them remarked, "That's just like Dr. Smith." Though 
the saying that a man ' ' had not an enemy in the world' ' has 
become exceedingly trite, it was never more applicable than 
to the subject of this sketch. The grief of the community 
at his death was universal. 



"K." 



INDUSTRIES, &c. 



322 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 



THE NEW YOKK DYEING AND PRINTING ESTAB- 
LISHMENT. 

This establishment was organized in the year 1819, under 
the firm name of Barrett, Tileston & Co., and continued in 
successful operation for a period of about six years ; a char- 
ter of incorporation was then obtained under the title which 
heads this article. The late Samuel Marsh was elected 
President, which position he held with great credit to himself 
and profit to the stockholders until his death, which occurred 
after he had been elected President for the forty- ninth suc- 
cessive year. 

The business of the Establishment is the dyeing and 
cleansing of all kinds of garments for ladies and gentlemen, 
as well as goods in the piece and in wholesale quantities. 

This Establishment also carried on the silk printing very 
extensively, employing at one time sixty block printers and 
as many attendants, and also printing by steam power. By 
this branch of manufacture the popular silk handkerchiefs 
were introduced, and sold in every State in the Union. 

The steady increase of the business of the concern com- 
pelled a corresponding increase in buildings and machinery, 
until it is now the largest and most complete establishment of 
the kind in the United States, if not in the world. 

To give the reader an idea of the immense business carried 
on here, we must commence with the receiving room, where 
the goods are deposited each day when received from its 
offices in New York. In this department about forty females 
are employed in tacking the goods and sewing thread numbers 
on each article, in every department. 

Next to this is the Silk Fancy Dye House, where fifty men 
are employed in dyeing all kinds of silk goods, ribbons, tis- 
sues, barages, velvets, dresses, and in fact all kinds of silk 



AN1STALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 323 

goods which are found in our market. The dyers in charge 
of this department are very skilful, and of these the Estab- 
lishment always has a full corps. 

Adjoining this is the wholesale Worsted Dye House, where 
merinos, delains, alpacas, tabby velvets and a variety of other 
goods, are skilfully converted from unsaleable to saleable 
colors. A large amount of machinery is employed in these 
departments, as well as in the finishing rooms where the goods 
are taken after being dyed. Here also much skill is em- 
ployed in giving the dyed fabric the appearance of new goods. 

Passing from this branch of the work, we come to the Book 
back department, where about fifty men are employed in the 
manufacture of book-binders' cloth. Here is machinery of 
the value of more than $75,000 in constant operation. This 
Establishment has obtained a perfection in this branch, un- 
equalled by any similar concern in this country, and sur- 
passed by none elsewhere. A constant addition of valuable 
machinery is rendered necessary in order to keep pace with 
the growing demand of trade. 

Next in order is the Cotton Dye House, where are upwards 
of thirty dyeing machines constantly running. Here may be 
seen every variety of cotton fabrics, such as window shades 
or Hollands, umbrella cloth, wigans, selesias, serges, cambrics, 
&c. These goods are received direct from the mills, done up 
in bales, and before dyeing are singed by being passed over 
red hot iron plates to remove the lint or fibres, after which they 
are bleached in large tubs, which contain about two tons of 
cotton each. When thoroughly white and clean, the goods 
are sent to the dye-house and dyed to the colors ordered ; 
after which they are taken to the Calendar Room, where are 
ten large calendars constantly at work on these goods to 
finish or glaze them. From this the goods are taken to the 
folding and packing rooms, where they are made ready for 
shipment to the merchants. These departments employ 
seventy-five men and women. 

Where so much machinery is in constant motion, there is 
also much wear and tear, which renders it necessary to keep 



324 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

all kinds of mechanics on the premises. The most noticeable 
in this line is the Machine Shop with its expensive lathes and 
other tools ; five men are ordinarily employed here. The 
Carpenter's Shop, with its circular saws, planing mills, etc., 
employs five men. The Blacksmith Shop and Plumber's 
Shop has four men. 

On the premises is a Maxam gas machine, which furnishes 
gas for the Establishment made from gasoline. 

The steam power is furnished by thirteen boilers, and the 
motive power by two large and six smaller engines ; it requires 
three thousand tons of coal per annum to supply these 
boilers. 

Attached to the premises is a large pond covering an area 
of several acres, which supplies the establishment with water. 

Mr. J. T. Young, President, and Mr. Joshua Mersereau, 
Secretary, are gentlemen well known for their sterling busi- 
ness qualifications, and to whom the Establishment is largely 
indebted for its present growth and prosperity. 

The principal office of the company is 98 Duane street ; be- 
sides which, it has other offices at 752 Broadway, and 610 
Sixth Avenue, New York ; 166 and 168 Pierrepont street, 
Brooklyn, and 40 North Eighth street, Philadelphia. 



BARRETT, NEPHEWS & CO.'S FANCY DYEING 
ESTABLISHMENT. 

This establishment is located on Cherry Lane, in the sixth 
ward of the village of New Brighton. It was organized in 
March, 185] , by Col. Nathan Barrett, Nathan M. Heal, Joseph 
H. Heal, Edwin B. Heal and Abraham C. Wood, who formed 
the copartnership under the above title, the buildings having 
been erected the previous year. 

The capital originally invested was $12,000, of which Col. 
Barrett contributed one-half. The business went on steadily 
and prosperously from its commencement ; much of the 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 325 

profits was annually invested in enlargements and improve- 
ments both in buildings and machinery. 

The health of Col. Barrett began to fail seriously in 1865, 
and he determined to take a voyage to Europe, hoping to de- 
rive benefit therefrom physically, and to accomplish a long- 
cherished desire of visiting French and English Dyeing Estab- 
lishments, in order to gain information that might be of 
service to this Establishment, founded principally by his 
enterprise, capital and skill, and in the success of which he 
felt a deep interest. His intelligent foresight induced him, 
with the consent and approval of his associates, to take the 
necessary steps to place the concern on the best foundation for 
stability, by changing the copartnership into a corporation, 
which was done on the 12th day of July 1865, with a capital 
of $132,000, represented by thirteen hundred and twenty 
shares of one hundred dollars each. The day this change 
was consummated he sailed for Europe. Very soon after his 
arrival out, his disease assumed a more virulent aspect, and 
he died in the city of London on the 3d day of October, 1865 ; 
thus were frustrated his hopes and his purposes. 

The members of the original co-partnership were also the 
stockholders in the new corporation ; Col. Barrett being the 
first President, Nathan M. Heal, V. Pres't, and Abm. C. 
Wood, Secretary and Treasurer. After the decease of Col. 
Barrett, Mr. N. M. Heal was chosen President, and Joseph 
H. Heal V. Pres't, Mr. Wood continuing in the offices origi- 
nally held by him, and these continue to be the officers of 
the Company to the present time. 

In 1862 the business of the Company had so increased as 
to require a larger supply of water than their streams and 
pond afforded. In this emergency, some land, with several 
springs of fine water, was purchased from the late Rev. 
Samuel White, distant about three thousand feet from the 
Establishment, and below its level ; pipes were laid under- 
ground, through which the water is forced by a steam pump 
as occasion requires. In 1866 it was deemed advisable to 
secure a still larger supply, and the Company purchased the 



326 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

farm of the late John M. Post, containing twenty -eight acres, 
adjacent to the first purchase, on which were copious springs 
of excellent water. This latter investment has, in every 
respect, been a profitable one to the stockholders. Its in- 
ception and successful consummation are to be attributed to 
the sagacity and good judgment of the President, Mr. 
Nathan M. Heal. 

The buildings of the Company cover an area of an acre 
and a quarter, and the business, when in full operation, gives 
employment to about four hundred persons. 



FIRE-BRICK AND GAS RETORT MANUFACTORY. 

Midway between Rossville and Tottenville, on the shore of 
the Sound, and in the hamlet known as Kreischerville, are 
"The New York Fire-Brick, and Staten Island Clay Retort 
Works." In this establishment fire-bricks and gas retorts 
are manufactured. The works cover an acre and a quarter 
of land, and was established in 1845 by B. Kreischer, Esq., 
but the style of the firm now is "B. Kreischer and Son." 
On the opposite shore, in the State of New Jersey, are similar 
works, but the material there found is inferior to that found 
at Kreischerville, which is a very white and homogeneous 
clay. This material is also used for putting a gloss on paper, 
and by the aid of sulphuric acid, alum may be produced. 
The clay is dug from pits, and is found at various depths 
from the surface. The value of the articles manufactured 
here amounts to about fifty thousand dollars annually, and 
the amount of capital invested is about one hundred thousand 
dollars. The number of men employed is from fifty to 
seventy-five, and sometimes more. 

The composition of the material used in this establishment 
is very similar, if not identical, with that found near Amboy, 
in New Jersey, the analysis of which by Prof. Cook is as 
follows : 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 327 

Alumina 39.94 

Silicic acid, combined 42. 22 

Silicic acid, free ' . . 1.22 

Silica, quartz sand 71 

Peroxide of iron 41 

Potash 47 

Titanic acid 1.63 

AVater, combined 13.44 



100.04 
Office 58 Goerck Street, New York. 



LINOLEUM COMPANY. 

A short distance southwest of Long Neck, or Travisville, 
as it is now called, at the westerly extremity of Richmond 
Turnpike, on the shores of Staten Island Sound, stand the 
works of "The American Linoleum Manufacturing Com- 
pany," a new enterprise, recently located on the Island, and 
the only one of the kind in the United States. It is a joint- 
stock concern, with a capital of $450,000, three-fourths of 
which is owned in England. The article manufactured is the 
"Patent Linoleum Floor-cloth," made from pulverized or 
ground cork and linseed oil, an article quite as ornamental as 
oil-cloth, but much more durable, and though more costly at 
first, is much cheaper on account of its durability. 

The Company own about 200 acres of land, and commenced 
building in August, 1873, and the works now (May, 1876) 
cover an area of about seven acres. The manufactured goods 
were in market for the first time in January, 1875. They 
employ ordinarily about sixty men, and their collective steam 
power is that of about 140 horses. 

Mr. Joseph Wild is the president of the company, and 
Mr. J . Cartledge manufacturing director. 

The office of the Company is at 90 and 92 Thomas Street, 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

New York city ; Mr. C. H. Pepper, 1283 Broadway, is the 
retail agent. 

Tlie article manufactured by this Company is becoming 
constantly more popular, requiring a continued increase of 
facilities for producing it. 



WHITELEAD AND LINSEED OIL MANUFACTORIES. 

A few rods east of the old steamboat landing at Port Rich- 
mond, and between the Shore road and the shore of Kill Van 
Kull, are the Whitelead works of John Jewett and Sons ; 
this constituted the original firm ; the present consists of Gf. 
W. Jewett, J. A. Dean, C. H. Jewett and O. D. Jewett. 

The works are built upon the site of the old oil factory, 
which was burned many years ago, and have been much en- 
larged and extended since their first erection in 1842. They 
now occupy two and a half acres of land ; the principal 
building is of brick, three stories high, and one hundred and 
fifty feet in length, with a brick wing at right angles, nearly as 
long ; the corroding houses cover an area of 200 by 125 feet ; 
the machinery is propelled by engines, in the aggregate, of 
one hundred and fifty horse power. About seventy-five men 
are usually employed, and about two thousand tons of white- 
lead are manufactured annually. 

Two of the partners of the above described establishment, 
Messrs. G. W. Jewett and J. A. Dean, commenced the manu- 
facture of linseed oil in 1869. The buildings, which are 
nearly a mile West of the Whitelead Works, also stand be- 
tween the Shore Road and Kill Van Kull, and partly on a 
large wharf. The main building is of brick, three stories 
high, one hundred and twenty feet long by seventy-six feet 
wide, with an addition seventy-six by twenty-five feet, and a 
tower containing a public clock. This establishment employs 
about fifty men, and manufactures about half a million of 
gallons of oil annually. 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 329 



DE JONGE'S PAPER FACTORY. 

This establishment was originally located in New York 
city, but as business increased, and additional facilities be 
came imperative, the works were removed to Staten Island in 
1852. They are located on the South side of Richmond 
Turnpike, about half a mile from Tompkinsville. Louis 
Dejonge and Charles F. Bentgraf are the proprietors, and 
carry on the business of coloring, printing, and finishing fancy 
paper, under the style of Louis Dejonge & Co. The capital in- 
vested is about $200,000, and the annual value of the manu- 
factures about $300,000. The works cover an area of about 
two acres, the principal building is about 250 feet long by 40 
feet wide, with a wing at right angles of 125 by 30 feet. 
From 110 to 120 hands are regularly employed in the estab- 
lishment, and the engines, in the aggregate, are about one 
hundred horse power. 

The office of the Company is at 71 and 73 Duane Street, 
New York city. 



THE OYSTER TRADE. 

By far the most important of the industries of Staten 
Island is its oyster business, which is carried on in several 
parts of this and the neighboring counties, where the sea 
shores offer the proper facilities, chiefly by inhabitants of 
Mariner's Harbor. The business would be of very limited 
extent and of trifling importance, if confined to the vicinity 
of the residences of the proprietors. There are so many 
conditions and contingencies attending it, that nothing more 
than a very general description can be given. 

The business is necessarily not local, but extends in its 
multitudinous ramifications from the shores of Long Island 
Sound to the rivers of Virginia. There are numerous large 



330 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

schooners, owned wholly or in part upon Staten Island, en- 
gaged exclusively in transporting oysters from the rivers of 
the last mentioned State to the metropolitan market, or to 
more northern shores, to be planted, where they are left to 
grow and fatten until they are in proper condition to sell. 
In addition to these large sea-going schooners, there are 
numerous smaller sailing vessels occupied in carrying the 
small, or seed oysters, from one place to another for planting, 
or the mature mollusk from the beds where they were placed 
to grow and fatten, to the dealers in the metropolis and else- 
where. The vessels employed in this trade, hailing from 
Staten Island, may be counted by the hundreds, while the 
individuals subsisting thereby may be enumerated by thou- 
sands, while the capital invested may be estimated by 
millions. When the season is fair, and no adverse circum- 
stances intervene, the business is lucrative, sometimes 
remarkably so ; but success depends so much on judgment 
and experience, that a novice, under the most favorable 
circumstances, lacking these, would more frequently fail than 
succeed. There are, besides, so many accidents beyond the 
perception of human sagacity, or the control of human 
power, that the business, at the best, may be considered, in 
a great degree, precarious. Sometimes whole cargoes, worth 
thousands of dollars, are lost at sea on the passage, either by 
storm or by diseases peculiar to oysters themselves ; some- 
times valuable beds are ruined by these diseases, or by fishes, 
especially drums, which crush the shells and suck out their 
contents, and in a great variety of other ways the expenses 
and labors of a season are sometimes suddenly and irretriev- 
ably lost. No cultivator or dealer is able to estimate with 
any degree of certainty, at the beginning of a season, what 
its results may be. Patience and indomitable perseverance, 
together with a competent capital at hand, are the only con- 
ditions which will, not insure success, but render it probable. 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 331 



THE STATEN ISLAND RAILROAD. 

This road extends from Vanderbilt's Landing to Totten- 
ville, and is thirteen miles in length, and its original cost was 
about $300,000. 

The first meeting of citizens to discuss the practicability of 
constructing the road, was held in the village of Richmond, 
on the 2d day of August, 1851, at which Articles of Associa- 
tion were submitted, discussed and adopted, and filed in the 
office of the Secretary of State, on the 18th day of October, 
1851. On that day an election was held for the first Board of 
Directors, and resulted in the election of the following gentle- 
men, viz : Joseph H. Seguine, Joel Wolfe, Edwin R. Bennet, 
Stephen Seguine, Henry Cole, Henry I. Seaman, Henry Van 
Hovenborgh, Peter 0. Cortelyou, John G. Seguine, William 
Totten,' George White, William King, and Cornelius White. 

Joseph H. Seguine was elected President, Stephen Seguine 
Treasurer, and George White, Secretary. The first annual 
report was made to the State Engineer and Surveyor on the 
30th day of September, 1852. 

Numerous obstacles presented themselves to prevent the 
speedy completion of the road, not the least of which was 
the difficulty of securing a right of way over the lands of 
several landed proprietors, and in January, 1855, it became 
necessary for the company to apply to the Legislature for an 
extension of time to construct their road. 

The first receipts from passengers was on the 23d day of 
April, 1860, the trains running only a part of the way, but on 
the 2d day of June, of that year, the formal opening of the 
road took place. 

Through various embarrassments and difficulties, monetary 
and otherwise, the conductors of the enterprise have per- 
severed, until the road may now be considered as a permanent 
institution of the county. 



332 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 



BREWERIES. 

Among the principal industries of Staten Island must be 
included its breweries for the manufacture of lager beer. The 
Island appears to have been selected as a locality peculiarly 
adapted to this manufacture, on account of the number and 
copiousness of its springs of excellent water. These establish- 
ments, collectively, pay an immense revenue tax, and this tax 
is one dollar on each barrel ; the amount of the tax indicates 
the number of barrels brewed annually. 

The largest of these establishments is Bechtel's Brewery, at 
Stapleton. It was founded in 1853 by John Bechtel. In 1865 
he sold the whole concern to his son, George Bechtel, the 
present proprietor. The capital invested amounts to the 
enormous sum of $400,000. In 1865 the revenue tax of this 
Brewery amounted to $10,000, and, in 1875, to $60,000. It 
employs about fifty hands. 

The next Brewery in importance is the Clifton, in Edge- 
water. It is invested with some degree of interest from the 
fact that it was established by Gen. Garabaldi and his partner, 
Meucci, in 1851. Since their day it has passed through the 
hands of several proprietors: viz., Louis Gross, Christian 
Trefz, Gabriel Mayer, at whose decease it passed into the 
hands of the present proprietors, David Mayer and Fr. Bach- 
mann. The capital invested amounts to $250,000, and its 
revenue tax was $40,000 in 1875. It employs forty-five hands. 

The Constanz Brewery, in Middletown, near the Four Cor- 
ners, was so called from the name of the native place of one of 
its founders. It was established in 1852 by August Smidt & 
Co. After running it successfully for several years, it passed 
into the hands of Finzel & Decker ; they, in turn, sold it to 
Joseph Setz, and, recently, he convej-ed it to Monroe Eck 
stein, the present proprietor. The capital invested amounts 
to $250,000. Its revenue tax in 1875 was $18,000, and it em- 
ploys twenty hands. 

The Atlantic Brewery, at Stapleton, is owned by Rubsam 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 333 

& Horrmann. It was established in 1870, has a capital of 
$175,000, and employs thirty-three hands, 

Bischoff s Brewery was established, at Stapleton, in 1854 

or ; 5, by Grillich. Subsequently it became the property 

of Wolf & Reinhardt, and now belongs to Gfeorge Bischoff. 
Its capital is about $75,000, its revenue tax $11,000, and it em- 
ploys twenty hands. 

There are several other similar establishments on the Island, 
but not on so large a scale as the above. At the Centennial 
Exhibition, in Philadelphia, there were eleven prizes awarded 
to brewers in the United States, three of which were awarded 
to Staten Island brewers ; viz., to Mayer & Bachmann, George 
Bechtel, and Rubsam & Horrmann. Eckstein, Bischoff, and 
several others, did not compete. 



OLD FAMILIES. 



336 ANNALS OF STATED ISLAND. 



THE OLD FAMILIES. 



PRELIMINARY. 

In preparing a history of the old families of Staten Island, 
it was intended at the outset to give the genealogical descents 
of each as full as it was possible to obtain them ; we have 
done so, but not in the manner first proposed. Insuperable 
obstacles have presented themselves on every side. Two or 
three have declined to impart any information, probably be- 
cause they knew so little of their own families, that they had 
none to impart, or, for some other unexplained reason. In 
the vast majority of instances, however, inquiries have been 
cheerfully answered, and every possible facility afforded, 
but the most of them have been unable to go further back 
into the past than their own grandfathers. Family bible 
records have afforded but little assistance, as in most cases 
they give only the dates of the births or deaths, or both, of 
individuals, without informing us what relationship they 
bore to other individuals mentioned in the same record, and 
which the families themselves are unable to trace. Other 
records, again, inform us that " Father A," or " Mother B," 
died on a certain day, without informing us whose father or 
mother they were, or even giving us the full name of the 
individual. In several instances, we have succeeded in ob- 
taining a perfect chain of descent of some branch of a family 
from the original emigrant, or settlers, down to their descend- 
ants of the present day, as in the Bodine, Mersereau, Van- 
derbilt, Winant, and other families. Obviously, it was im- 
possible to trace the descent of each branch of each family, 
for it would have been an almost interminable, and constantly 
accumulating labor. These, and other difficulties constantly 
presenting themselves, the original design was, of necessity, 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 337 

abandoned, and instead thereof, the reader is presented with 
such notices of the old members of their respective families, 
as we have been able to find in the records of the county, 
the several churches and the families themselves, leaving 
each to trace out his own pedigree from the materials thus 
furnished, if he is able. Imperfect as these notices may be, 
it must be gratifying to the descendants of these old families 
to read the names of some of their ancestors, of whom, per- 
haps, they never heard before. 

It will be observed, that in numerous instances we give the 
full maiden name of the wife and mother, and the dates of 
the baptisms of the children ; these are taken from the 
records of the Dutch church. In other instances, we give 
only the baptismal names of the wife and mother, and the 
dates of the births of the children ; these are taken from the 
records of St. Andrew's Church, as are all the records of 
marriages. 

A blank space has been left after the record of each 
family, for the purpose of adding, in pencil, such names as 
may be desired. 

On Staten Island, as well as elsewhere, there are a few 
families whose ancestors reflect no credit on their descend- 
ants, or whose descendants reflect no credit on their an- 
cestors ; these, for obvious reasons, have been omitted. 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 



ALSTON. 



Originally this was a Scotch family ; one of its most noted 
members was Charles Alston, a celebrated Scotch physician, 
and author. He died in 1760. 

Joseph Alston, the son-in-law of Aaron Burr, and a former 
Governor of South Carolina, was also of this family. 

The first of the name on Staten Island was David Alston, 
who came here from New Jersey, somewhere about the 
beginning of the Revolution. He was commissioned a Captain 
in the British army, his company was composed of provincial 
loyalists, or tories ; he owned the property recently belonging 
to the estate of Samuel Decker, deceased, in Northfield. The 
large stone house in which he lived and died, was demolished 
a few years ago. He died between the 6th and 14th of May, 
1805, for these are the dates of his will and its probate. He 
speaks, in that document, of his sons Warren, Japhet and 
David. It is said that he continued to draw his half -pay 
from the British Government as long as he lived. 

His son Japhet, at the time of his death, which occurred 
July 31, 1842, at the Four Corners, Castleton, was the father 
of Moses Alston, Esq. , late twice sheriff of the county, and of 
his brothers David,* Japhet, Adam,* George and William. 

A copy of Captain Alston' s Commission is given below, as 
an interesting and curious old document. 

L. S. By His Excellency Sir William Howe, Knight of 
the most Honorable Order of the Bath, General and Com- 
mander-in-Chief of all His Majesty's Forces within the 
Colonies lying on the Atlantic Ocean from Nova Scotia to 
West Florida inclusive, &c, &c, &c. 
To David Alston, Esq. : 

By virtue of the Power and Authority in Me vested, I DO 
hereby constitute and appoint You to be a Captain of a 
Company in the Third Battalion of New Jersey Volunteers, 
Commanded by Lieut. Colonel Edward V. Dongan. You are 

* Dead. 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 339 

therefore to take the said Company into Your Care and 
Charge, and duly to exercise the Officers as Soldiers thereof 
in Arms, and to use Your best Endeavours to keep them in 
good Order and Discipline from Time to Time, as you shall 
receive from the General or Commander-in-Chief of His 
Majesty's Forces in North America, now and for the Time 
being Your Lieut. - Colonel Commandant or any other Your 
Superior officer, according to the Rules and Discipline of 
War in Pursuance of the Trust hereby reposed in You. 

Given under my Hand and Seal at Head Quarters in New 
York, the Fifteenth day of July, One Thousand Seven Hun- 
dred and Seventy- Six, in the Sixteenth Year of the Reign of 
our Sovereign Lord George the Third, by the Grace of God of 
Great Britain, France and Ireland king, Defender of the 
Faith, and so forth. 

By his Excellency's Command, W. Howe. 

Robert Mackenzie. 



ANDROVETTE. 

This is one of the old families of the Island, but it was 
never very prominent nor very numerous ; the notices of it 
therefore are few. They appear to have confined themselves 
chiefly to Westfield. The name occurs nowhere in the civil 
list of the county. 



340 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

J ohn is mentioned in the county records as having bought 
land of Tunis Egbert, Jan. 27, 1699, and as having sold land 
in 1705. 

Peter and Rebecca Cole had the following children : 

Daughter Rebecca, bap. Mar. 27, 1720. 

Daughter Elizabeth, bap. Dec. 25, 1723, died in infancy. 

Twins Elizabeth and Anna, bap. Jan. 1, 1726. 

John and Leah Swam had son John bap. Apr. 7, 1729, and 
dau. Leah, bap. May 17, 1724 ; this John we find mentioned 
as collector of the West Division in 1767 and 1768. Peter 
and Caty his wife, had son Peter, born July 6, 1765 ; he made 
his will Dec. 21, 1792, proved Mar. 17, 1802, in which he 
speaks of his wife Catharine, his dau. Catharine, wife of Dow 
Storer ; dau. Elizabeth, wife of Peter Latourette ; dau. Mary, 
wife of Joseph Totten ; sons Peter, Charles and John. 
These three sons were married as follows : 

Peter and Elizabeth Slack, Jan. 4, 1789. 

Charles and Margaret Slack, Sep. 11, 1797, and 

John and Ann Cole, Aug. 21, 1802. 

The family is at present represented by the three brothers, 
Cornelius C, John and Benjamin; their grandfather was 
usually known as Major John, and their father as young 
Major John. 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 341 

BARNES. 

Greorge Barnes and Roger Barnes, brothers, came from 
England many years before the Revolution, but it is not cer- 
tain that they came together. Roger bought land in Febru- 
ary, 1762, in Southfield ; Gfeorge, about 1770, bought land in 
Castleton, and settled upon it. This was a large tract, lying 
at the southwest corner of the Turnpike and Manor Road. 
Constanz Brewery and the Child's Nursery occupy a part of 
it. Roger's wife's name was Ann, and they had a son Robert, 
born May, 1760, and a daughter Margaret, born April 8, 
1766. George's wife's name was Dorothy, and they had the 
following children : 

Elizabeth, born July 18, 1767. 

John, born October 11, 1768. 

Roger, born January 7, 1771. 

They had, also, a son Gfeorge. 
Roger married Sally Lake, a sister of Bornt Lake, who was 
killed, (see Lake family,) and after the death of Roger, she 
married Richard Wood. 

John married Margaret Perine, May 2, 1793, and they were 
the parents of Capt. John W. Barnes, of Port Richmond, and 
grandparents of Barnes Brothers, of the same place. 



342 AT5HSTALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

BEDELL. 

We find this name at an early date in America, but not in 
connection with Staten Island. In 1673 we find Robbert 
Beedill, Daniel Beedel, Mathew Beedel, and John Beddell, 
enrolled among the inhabitants of Hempstead, Long Island. 
It is nearly a century after that date, that we find the name 
in any of the records of Richmond County. In 1768, Silas 
rendered a bill for "docktering," whence we infer that he 
was a physician. In the same year mention is made of John, 
who was County Treasurer when he died, in the early part of 
1781. There is a Joseph also mentioned in 1770, but not the 
Joseph alluded to elsewhere as having been taken prisoner 
by the Americans when a boy ; they were father and son. 
The father made his will Oct. 28, 1793, proved Nov. 19, same 
year, in which he speaks of his sons Jesse and Joseph, and 
his daughters Mary, Pattie, Pegge, Catharine and Jane ; his 
wife's name was Catharine ; his son Joseph was born Oct. 24, 
1763 ; Jesse was born 1773, and died Aug. 28, 1852. 

Stephen and Catharine Latourette were mar. May, 1766, 
and had a son David born July 19, 1771. 

Silas (the doctor) and Mary his wife, had the following 
children : 

Phebe, born Nov. 19, 1770. 
James, born Apr. 9, 1773. 
John, born Mar. 28, 1775. 

James married Hetty Parker Jan. 12, 1806. 

There was another J ohn, wife Catharine, who had a dau. 
Hillite, born Apr. 7, 1771 . 

Stephen and Mary Donelly were mar. Mar. 9, 1808 ; Israel 
died at Elizabethtown, N. J., Aug. 30, 1830; he was the 
father of the Rev. Gregory Townsend Bedell, D.D., an 
eminent Divine of the Episcopal Church, who was born at 
Fresh Kill, Oct. 28, 1793, and died Aug. 30, 1834, just four 
years after his father to a day. Rev. Dr. Bedell was the 
father of the Rev. Gr. Thurston Bedell ; Rev Dr. Bedell was 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 343 

an only son ; he was also the nephew of the late Bishop 
Moore, his mother being sister of the Bishop. 



BLAKE. 



This family is of English origin ; the date of their arrival 
or settlement on the Island is not known, though it was 
probably about, or just anterior to the middle of the last 
century ; like most of the other families of the same nation- 
ality, they were decided royalists during the Revolution. 
The first name of the family we find on the Records is that of 
William, who married Mary Woglom, and had the following 
children, viz.: 

John, born Sept. 28, 1763, died Sept. 30, 1852. 
William, born Apr. 21, 1766, died Jan. 16, 1852. 
Edward, born 1773, died Dec. 14, 1845. 

John married Tabitha Merrill, and died childless. 

William married Ann Corsen, and had the following child- 
ren : Daniel, lately deceased, William (drowned), Richard C. 
(still living in Illinois), Edward and Gfeorge. 

Edward was the father of Mrs. Margaret Minott, of West 
New Brighton. 

John, usually known as Capt. John W. Blake, owned and 
occupied the now valuable property corner of Mill and Manor 
roads, West New Brighton, extending westward on both sides 



344 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

of Cherry Lane, and embracing the site of the Dye Works of 
Barrett, Nephews & Co. 

William owned and occupied the property on the Little 
Clove road, subsequently owned by D. Porter Lord. 

Daniel, son of William, recently deceased, was the father 
of Daniel, captain of the Police force of the county, and the 
present representation of the family on the Island. 



BODINE. 

This family is of French origin. The name is not men- 
tioned by Smiles among the Huguenots. The first historical 
allusion to the name that we have met is, a brief biographical 
account of John Bodin, who was a native of Angers, studied 
law and lectured at Toulouse ; he wrote several works, and 
died of the plague at Laon, in 1596. The date of the emi- 
gration of the family to this country is not known, but it 
must have been in the latter part of the 17th or very early in 
the 18th century, for we find the name of John Bodine men- 
tioned in the county records as having purchased land in 1701, 
and was still living in 1744, as we find his name and that of 
his wife Hester mentioned as having sold land at that date. 
Mention is also made in records at Albany of John Bodein, 
in 1707. It is probable that he was an emigrant, as we find 
him preserving the French orthography of his name, Jean, 
and of his son who came with him, Francois. Jean was also 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 345 

a witness to a baptism in the R. D. Church, in April, 1720 ; he 
was therefore a Protestant, or Huguenot. 

Francois* married Maria Dey, and they had a son named 
Jean, baptized in the same church Nov. 29th, 1719. Of this 
second Jean, or John, we find no account except that his wife' s 
name was Dorcas, and that they had several children baptized. 
They were undoubtedly the parents of John Bodine, who 
was born in February, 1753, and of James Bodine, born in 
January, 1759. John died in March, 1835, nearly 82 years of 
age, and James in May, 1838, nearly 80 years of age. John 
married Catharine Britton, sister of the late Mr. Nathaniel 
Britton ; their sons were John, usually recognized in the local 
history of the North Shore, as "Squire John," Jacob, (the 
father of W. H. J. and Edmund Bodine, constituting the 
present firm of Bodine Brothers, the late Capt. John, James, 
Jacob and Albert, and three daughters ; ) and Vincent, who re- 
moved from the Island. James was the father of the late 
Mr. Abraham Bodine, of Mariner's Harbor, and of several 
other sons and daughters now dead. 

" Squire John" owned considerable property on the North 
Shore, among which was the mill, and the pond, and the land 
east of it, including the old Dongan Manor house, which he 
subsequently sold to his father, who died in that house in 
1835. He also owned the property now occupied by the 
store of Pine, Hilly er & Co., the residence of Mr. C. M. Pine, 
and the dwelling west of it, in which he lived at the time of 
his decease. 

* Vide App. N. (65.) 



346 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 



BOGART. 

This family is of Dutch, and not of English extraction, as 
is generally supposed. The name was, originally, written 
Bogaert. The earliest mention of the name in the province 
occurs in an assessment roll of Breucklen (Brooklyn), dated 
1673, where Theunes Gisbertse Bogaert is named, having the 
largest assessment on the roll. We find him again assessed 
in 1683. In 1715 we find the name of Simon enrolled among 
the militia of Kings County. Our theory is that this Simon 
had a brother Tunis, and that they were sons of Gfysbert : 
for, in the assessment mentioned above, he is rated for three 
polls (himself and two sons) ; that these sons married on 
Long Island, the one a Ten Eyck, the other a Hageman, (for 
these names were common on Long, but were not found on 
Staten Island,) and then purchased land and removed here. 

Simon Bogaert and Margarietje Ten Eyck had the following 
children, viz. : 

A daughter Elisabet, bap. Oct. 18, 1719. 

A daughter Margareta, bap. Dec. 3, 1722. 

A son Simon, bap. May 19, 1726. 

A son Gysbert, bap. Jan. 19, 1729. 

A daughter Sarah, bap. Feb. 13, 1732, and perhaps others. 
Tunis and Catharine Hegeman had the following children, 
viz. : 

A son Isaak, bap. Nov. 2, 1718. 

A son Adrian, bap. Dec. 18, 1720. 

A son Abraham, bap. Apr. 21, 1723. 

A daughter Maria, bap. Mar. 28, 1725. 

A son Cornelius, bap. Mar. 2, 1729, and perhaps others. 
Simon, (probably son of Simon,) and Martha, his wife, had 
the following children, viz. : 

A daughter Mary, born Dec. 4, 1746. 

A son Simon, born June 19, 1754. 

A son Richard, born Feb. 22, 1757. 
Isaac and Rachel had a son John, born Oct. 14, 1770 ; also 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 347 

a son Simon, who was the father of the present representative 
of the family on the Island, Mr. Timothy C. Bogart, near the 
Four Corners. 



BRAISTED. 

Though this name has been identified with the county for 
a century and a half, the earliest notice of it in the old 
church records, is that of William and Christina Bouwman 
his wife, who had a son Johannes, bap. in 1715, and a son 
Andries, Aug. 18, 1719. In the county records we meet with 
him as having purchased land in 1730. Johannes, or John, 
son of William, married Trintje Haughwout, and had a son 
Jan, or John, bap. Aug. 18, 1741, and a son Peter, bap. Aug. 
15, 1743. We then lose trace of the family for 30 years : then 
it appears again in the name of Egbert and Rachel his wife, 
who had a son Egbert, born May 6, 1773. The next and only 
remaining notice we have of the family in the last century is 
the marriage of John and Nautchie (Anna) Martling, 
daughter of John Martling, Feb. 14, 1790. The family is 
now represented by Capt. J. Braisted, of Edge water, and a 
family or two at Watchogue, in the town of Northfield. 



348 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

BRITTON. 

This family is of French descent, and their name was 
originally written Breton, another example of the change of 
French names into English. The earliest mention of the 
name in connection with the Island, is that of Capt. , some- 
times called Col. Nicklos, who was born in 1679, and died 
Jan. 12, 1740. * 

William was defendant in a suit at law Oct. 3, 1680. 

Nathaniel was plaintiff in a suit in July, 1681, and again in 
a suit with Lewes Lakerman in the same year. These two last 
named were adults when " Col. Nicklos" was an infant, but 
the consanguinity between them cannot now be ascertained. 
There was another William, a son of Nicholas, probabty 
Col. Nicklos, born Oct. 11, 1708. 

There was a Joseph, perhaps a brother of William, who 
had a son James, bap. Apr. 23, 1707, and a daughter, in 1708. 

There was also a Richard, who purchased land in 1694. 

Nathaniel made his will in 1683, but he was still living 
in 1695 ; he was probably the same individual who was a 
party to the law-suit alluded to above. 

Nathaniel and Esther Belleville had a daughter, bap. Apr. 
9, 1732. 

Nathaniel, and Mary his wife, had the following children : 
Joseph, born Nov. 15, 1760. 
Richard, born Mar. 22, 1766. 
William, born Sep. 19, 1768. 

Samuel and Mary had the following daughters : 
Addra, born July 7, 1771. 
Mary, born July 31, 1773. 

Nathaniel and Catharine had a daughter Mary, born Apr. 
4, 1775 ; at her baptism, the father was also baptised. 

Samuel and Polly Latourette, married May 24, 1797. 

The present representative of one branch of the family is 
J. A. H. Britton, Esq., of New Dorp ; his father was Nathan- 

* Vide App. N. (66.) 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 349 

iel, whose place of interment is marked by the marble monu- 
ment at the southwest corner of the Church of the Ascension. 
Nathaniel was born in 1764 or '5 ; he was twice married ; his 
first wife was a Van Buskirk, of Bergen, and they were the 
parents of Debora, wife of Joshua Mersereau, born Aug. 4, 
1782, died Mar. 26, 1840 ; Cornelius, born July 1, 1785, died 
April 3, 1867 ; he resided at Fresh Kill for many years before 
his death. 

Abraham, born Aug. 20, 1787, died Aug. 26, 1866; he resided 
on the Clove road in Castleton, and was the father of Henry 
and Abraham, both recently deceased, who resided on the pa- 
ternal property. 

Nathaniel, Jr., born in 1792, died Feb. 13, 1841 ; he owned 
and resided on the property on the east side of Broadway, 
West New Brighton, extending the whole length of that 
highway. He had also another son, John. 

Nathaniel' s second wife was Margaret Bedell, who was born 
Jan. 5, 1768, and died Sep. 21, 1849 ; she was the mother of 
J. A. H. Britton, Esq., as before mentioned. 

See note, Yanderbilt family. 



BURBANK. 

The Burbanks are of English origin. The family tradition 
is that there were three brothers came to this country together, 
one of whom settled on Staten Island, the other two in New 
England, but their names and the date of their arrival has 



350 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

been lost. There are several branches of the family, but all 
are descended from the one brother, who took up his abode 
on the Island. John W., residing near the Four Corners, 
and his brother Jacob, of Tompkinsville, are the sons of 
Jacob, who was born April 9, 1771, and died Sept. 14, 1854. 
He was twice married, his first wife having been Ann 

Wandell, and his second Lucy Thompson, widow of 

Hennell (?) Jacob was the son of Abraham, who was born 
Nov. 20th, 1744, and died May 12th, 1822. Ann his wife was 
born June 9th, 1742, and died Nov. 24th, 1822. Their sons 
were Jacob, mentioned above, and Isaac, born June 17, 1787, 
and died Mar. 21, 1856. 

The earliest mention of the name is in the baptismal record 
of the Ref. Dutch Church at Port Richmond, as follows : 
Thomas and Maritje Martling his wife had a daughter 
baptized April 22, 1707. Other notices of the family are 
found in the records of other churches and of the county. 

John and Leah Haughwout his wife had a son Thomas, 
baptized Dec. 3, 1728, and a son John, Aug. 16, 1743. 

Lucas and Martha Baile (Bailey) his wife, had children 
baptized between March 28, 1736, and April 13, 1742. 

Peter made his will Nov. 6, 1774, which was proved Nov. 
5, 1793, in which he mentions his wife Martha and his sons 
John, and James and his daughter Martha. 

There is another Thomas mentioned in the County records 
1768. 

John and Elizabeth his wife had a son William, born June 
3, 1786. 

James and Nelly his wife had a son Abraham, born Sep. 
1, 1786. 

There is mention made in the County records of John, who 
was paid by the county for keeping his father, an invalid. 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 351 

BURGHER, BURGER. 

These, at the present day, are two distinct families, who 
write their names as above. 

Johannes Burger, from G-iesman, came over in the ship 
Stettin, Sept., 1662; but where he settled, is not known. 
There was an Elias Burger and Susanna Whitman, his wife, 
who had a son Nathan, bap. Feb. 23, 1724, and this is the first 
record of the name in the County. 

Col. Nicholas Burgher was born Jan. 23, 1768, and died 
May 23, 1839 ; he was the father of Matthias, John, James 
G., David, and several other children. John was the father 
of Mr. David Burgher, of Edgewater, the present representa- 
tive of the family spelling their name with an 7i. 

The other family, who eschew the 7^, and adhere to the 
original orthography, are of comparatively recent connection 
with the Island. 

David D. Burger was born in South Carolina in 1777, and 
settled on Staten Island in 1814, where he died in Feb., J 831. 
He left several sons, of whom Nicholas, of Four Corners, 
and Samuel, of Bull's Head, still survive. 



BUSH. 



This name, written Bosch, in the Dutch records, is found 
here early in the last century. The family was never very 



352 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

numerous nor prominent, consequently the notices of its 
members are very few. 

Joshua, or Josiah, had a son Samuel, bap. 1706. 

Nicholas and Elizabeth Drinkwater had the following chil- 
dren : 

Edward, bap. Nov. 24, 1728. 
Barent, bap. Sep., 1734. 
Nicholas, bap. July 13, 1740. 

Garret had a daughter Mary, bap. Sep. 30, 1787, and 
daughter Elizabeth, bap. Aug. 30, 1789. Joseph and Mary 
Johnson were married Dec. 10, 1792. 

Lambert and Mary Stilwell were married Jan. 27, 1795. 

The family name, though not as old as some others on the 
Island, was in the province at an early date. Among the 
emigrants who came over in the ship Fox in August, 1662, we 
find the name of Jan Bossch from Westphalen. 

There was another family of this name descended from 
John Bush, an Englishman, who fought at Bunker Hill on 
the side of the Americans, and subsequently took up his 
residence on Staten Island, where he married, and had at 
least one son, whose name was William, who was the father 
of the late Mr. John Bush of Watchogue, Northfield, and of 
Mrs. S. D. Kennison, of West New Brighton. 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 353 

BUTLEE. 

This was another of the royalist families which were here 
before and during the Revolution. The earliest mention of 
the name in the church records is in 1732, where James and 
Sarah Carem had a son John, bap. Mar. 26. 

In St. Andrew's records, we find the following : 

Henry and Balaesha (Baletta) had a son James, born May 
8, 1759 ; and a son Nathaniel, born Mar. 23, 1768. 

Thomas and Mary had a son James, born Oct. 19, 1758, and 
a son Antony, born Nov. 17, 1769. 

John and Rachel had a son Daniel, born Oct. 29, 1758. 

John and Mary had a son Henry, bap. Mar. 11, 1776. 

Thomas and Susan had a daughter Maria, bap. May 13, 1790. 

Thomas and Mary Herod married Dec. 20, 1789. 

Daniel and Elizabeth Pray married Dec. 29, 1807. 

The family is at present in part represented by Mr. Talbot 
Butler, of Fort Richmond, whose father was Thomas, and 
mother Eleanor Crocheron, daughter of Abraham ; Thomas 
had several brothers, James, John, Elias and Henry, and they 

were the sons of John and Kingston his wife. Thomas 

was twice married, his second wife was a widow Blake, 
maiden name Wood. 



354 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

CANNON. 

On Staten Island the name is usually accented on the last 
syllable. The family was here as early as 1680, but it was 
never very numerous or prominent ; its members appear to 
have been of a retiring nature, and are never found mentioned 
in any official character, except in one instance where one of 
them held a minor military office. Andreas (Andrew) was 
plaintiff in a suit in 1680, and was probably the progenitor. 
We find no further mention of them until John and Maria 
Egbert had a son Abraham, bap. May 7, 1741. 

A daughter, Apr. 22d, 1746 and a son Jacobus, July 19, 
1748. 
David and Aeltje (Alida) Prall, had the following children : 
A daughter, bap. May 2d, 1753. 
A son, Arent, bap. Nov. 2d, 1754. 
A son, David, Jan. 29, 1758, and 
A son, Andries, Aug. 26, 1759. 
David is also mentioned in 1755 as owner of a slave. 
Andrew and Mary Wright were married Dec. , 1795. 



CHRISTOPHER. 

The original of this name is Christoffel, which is the Dutch 
for Christopher. 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 355 

The earliest mention of the family occurs in a church record, 
as follows : 

Barent and Anna Catharina Stilwell had the following chil- 
dren baptized. 

A son, Nicklaas, Aug. 4, 1703. 

A daughter, Catharyna, Apr. 23d, 1706, died young. 

A daughter, Rebecka, Apr. 20, 17 — . 

A daughter, Maria, 1710. 

A daughter, Susanna, Jan. 11, 1719 ; they had twin chil- 
dren Catharina and Barent, bap. Aug. 13, 1716. 

This Barent is mentioned in the county records as having 
sold land in 1704. 

Stoffel also sold land the same year. 

Catharine Christopher, widow of Albert Bykman, had a 
posthumous child, Albert, bap. Oct. 26, 1729. 

Hans (John) and Jane Arrowsmith, had the following chil- 
dren baptized. 

A son, Johannes, Apr. 16, 1732. 
A son, Barnt, Apr. 14, 1734. 
A son, Joseph, Aug. 8, 1736. 
A son, ".Richard, Sep. 30, 1739. 
Nicolas and Christina Bowman had a son, Barnt, bap. Nov. 
27, 1726, and a daughter Sep. 26, 1731. 

Richard (above) and Esther his wife, had the following 
children : 

John Garrison, born Sep. 18, 1770. 
James Gfrover, born Aug. 30, 1772. 
Joseph, born May 9, 1775. 
Joseph, son of John, had a son Joseph, who was father of 
Capt. Richard Christopher, of West New Brighton. 



356 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 



COLE. 

We have nowhere found the slightest allusion to the origin 
of this family, but an individual of the same name was on the 
Island before the beginning of the last century ; in the county 
records we find the name of Abraham Cole as having sold 
land in 1695, which, of course, he must have purchased at 
an earlier date. In the church records, we find no further 
mention of the name for more than half a century, though 
the name of Abraham appears to have been perpetuated. 

Abraham and Hannah had a daughter Ann, born May 11, 
1762. 

A son Abraham, born Mar. 6, 1766, and 
A son John Bedell, born July 31, 1770. 

Peter and Susannah Latourette had a son Henry, born Feb. 
6, 1765. 

Richard lived in the county in 1766, and Cornelius in 1772. 

Cornelius and Ann Dyelland were married May 1766. 

Stephen and Ann had a daughter Ann, born July 22, 1768. 
A son Stephen, born Sep. 11, 1771. 
A son John, born Feb. 5, 1775, and 

A daughter Margaret, who married Samuel Holmes ; — 
see Holmes family. 

Stephen, the son, married Jane Mersereau, Oct. 16, 1796, 
and John, the son, married Mary Winant, Apr. 1, 1797. 

Isaac and Esther his wife, had a son Edward, born Apr. 8, 
1770. 

Richard and Mary Spragg were married Oct., 1774. 

Richard and Mary his wife, had a son Abraham, born 
Mar. 6, 1775. 

John and Catharine his wife, had a son Abraham, born 
Apr. 6, 1775. 

Cornelius and Frances Cole were married Nov. 1], 1797. 

John and Eliza Drake were married Dec. 24, 1801. 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 357 

William, the pioneer of Methodism on Staten Island, was 
born in 1769, and died 1843. 

Abraham, born , 1751, died Feb. 19, 1798. 



COLON. 



James Colon, George Colon and John (elsewhere written 
Jonas) Colon, were naturalized May, 1770. These were prob- 
ably the progenitors of the family of that name, which once 
were numerous, but now nearly extinct. There was also a 
Peter Colon in the county in 1774. 



CONNER. 

Richard Conner came to Staten Island from Ireland about 
1760, as he purchased his landed estate at that time. He was 



358 ANNALS OF STATET5T ISLAND. 

a man of respectable acquirements, and superior business 
qualifications. His worth appears to have been soon dis- 
covered, for he was almost immediately placed in responsible 
offices, and continued to serve the public in various capacities 
until the time of his death. He was born 1723, and died Feb. 1, 
1792. He made his will Feb. 4, 1790, proved Feb. 6, 1792, in 
which he speaks of his daughter Ann, deceased, and of 
Catharine and Elizabeth, and his son Richard. One of his 
daughters married into the Garrison family, and was the 
mother of Mr. John C. Garrison, of Garrison's Station, 
S. I. R. R. His only son Richard, universally known as 
Col. Conner, was for many years a prominent surveyor in the 
county, and held various offices of trust. He was born in 
1763, and died April 5, 1853, leaving several sons, of whom 
Mr. A. V. Conner, present Clerk of the county, is one. The 
family were always attached to the Moravian Church. 

There was another family of the same name in the county 
in 1761, as appears by a record of a baptism of Adam, son of 
Jeremiah and Ann, in October of that year, but they were a 
distinct family. 



CORSEN. 

This is one of the oldest, and at one time among the most 
influential families on the Island. In this instance, as in 
most of the other old families, we have been able to obtain 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 359 

only shreds of its history, none of those now bearing the 
name being in possession of a genealogical descent. From 
1650 to 1690, we find the names of Hendrick 5 Peter, Jan, 
Philip, &c, as residents of New York, or some parts of Long 
Island. The first mention of the name in connection with 
Staten Island occurs Dec. 30, 1680, in a patent bearing that 
date, conveying to Cornelius Corsen, Andries Juriansen, 
Derrick Cornelison and John Peterson, 180 acres of land, 60 
acres of which belonged to Corsen, and 40 acres to each of 
the others. This land is referred to in the patent of Gov. 
Dongan to Palmer, and mentioned as the land belonging to 
Cornelius Corsen and company. Another patent to the same 
parties, of the same date, conveyed 320 acres of land lying 
westward of, and bounded by the Mill Creek, beside 32 acres 
of salt meadow " where most convenient." This Cornelius is 
designated as Captain in a record in Albany, dated Dec. 21, 
1680. We find him mentioned again in the county records as 
being plaintiff in a suit in January, 1681. He died before 
Dec. 7, 1693, as his will was proved on that day, before 
" Benjamin Fletcher, Captain-General and Governor-in-chief 
of the province of New York, province of Pennsylvania, 
county of Newcastle, and the territories and tracts depending 
thereon in America." By this will he devises his property to 
his wife Maritje for her life, and then to be equally divided 
among his children. He had at least three sons ; Christian, 
2d Judge and Lt. Col. in 1738, Cornelius, a justice, and Jacob, 
who made his will Oct. 8, 1742, by which he makes the 
following bequests : his homestead to his son Jacob, £70 
($175) to his daughter S aster, wife of Johannes Simonson ; 
£70 to his daughter Mary, wife of Joshua Mersereau ; £70 to 
his son Douwe ; £70 to his son Benjamin ; £70 to his daughter 
Rebecca, wife of John Blom ; to his sons Douwe and Benjamin 
all his lands in Hunterdon county, N. J. ; to his daughter 
Suster all his lands on the west side of Staten Island, meaning 
the land mentioned in his father' s patent as lying west of the 
Mill Creek, on which some of the Simonson family, her 
descendants, still reside ; to his son Jacob his silver-hilted 



360 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

sword and silk sash,* and all his other goods to his children 
equally. 

Daniel Corsen, who was County Clerk in 1739, was probably 
another son of Capt. Conelius, 

In the church-yard of the Reformed Church at Port Rich- 
mond, there are still to be seen two head-stones, with the 
following inscriptions in the Dutch (Holland) language : 

Hier onder rust het lyk. van 

Cornelius Coesen, Esq., 

overleden den 26 Maart — 

A. D. MDCCLV on— 

— ynde LIII. 

Here under rests the body of 

Cornelius Coesen, Esq., 

who died the 26 March, 1755, 

in his 53d 



Hier legt het Lighaam van 

Jannetia Van Boskeek, 
Huys vrouw van Cornelius 

Corsen 

Overleeden den 

MDCCXLIX 



Zyude L Jaar 

Here lies the body of 

Jane Van Buskiek, 
wife of Cornelius Corsen- 



died the , 1749, in her 50th year. 

This good old lady was probably a native of Bergen, N. J., 
where there were several families of the Van Buskirks, 
there being none of that name on the Island at that date. 
She was born in 1699, three years before her husband, a sub- 
ject of William and Mary ; she was three years old when 
Queen Anne began to reign ; she was fifteen years old when 
George I. was crowned, and twenty-eight when George II. 

* Vide App N. (67.) 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 361 

ascended the throne, and had been dead eleven years when 
George III. succeeded to the crown ; she had children older 
than George Washington, who was seventeen when she died ; 
she had been dead twenty-seven years when the United 
States were declared independent. She has slumbered in her 
tomb a hundred and twenty-seven years, all unconscious of 
the mighty events which have transpired during that period ; 
strangers have trodden in her paths for more than a century 
and a quarter ; her country' s f oemen, with ruthless foot, 
have desecrated her tomb, but she heeded nothing, and slept 
on as unconcerned as if all had been as peaceful and quiet 
as her own slumbers. 

Cornelius and Jannetje Van Buskirk had the following- 
children : 

A daughter, bap. Nov. 24, 1723. 
A son Peter, bap. Aug. 13, 1725. 
A son Christian, bap. Feb. 26, 1727. 
A son Cornells, bap. Feb. 23, 1729, died an infant. 
A son Cornells, bap. Feb. 21, 1731 . 
A son Jacobus (Jacob), bap. Oct. 22, 1732. 
A son Daniel, bap. Mar. 9, 1735, died May 22, 1801. 
A daughter, bap. Sep. 19, 1736. 
A daughter, bap. Sep. 23, 1738. 
We append the following, collected chiefly from church 
records : 

Cornelius, son of Benjamin, bap. May 4, 1714. 
Daniel, born 1714, died Jan. 26, 1761. 
Capt. Jacob, born 1707, died 1772. 

Benjamin and Blaudina Vile (Viele) had a son Benjamin, 
bap. Aug. 3, 1718. 
Jacob and Cornelia Cruser had the following children : 
Jacob (see note) bap. Oct. 13. 1747, and three daughters, 
between 1739 and 1754. 
Douwe (son of Jacob) and Jannetje Cosin, had a child bap. 
Oct. 5, 1755. 

Daniel and Maria Stilwell had sons Richard and Daniel, 
both bap. Nov. 7, 1753. 



362 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

Cornelius, Jr., had son Cornelius, bap. Sep. 2, 1787, and a 
daughter Jannetje (Jane), bap. Oct. 17, 1790. 

Richard had a daughter Catharine, bap. Aug. 30, 1789. 

Daniel and Elizabeth Bogart, had son Cornelius, bap. Sep. 
17, 1758, and son William Howe, born Nov. 24, 1776.* 

Jacob had a daughter, bap. Mar. 25, 1701, a son Jacob, 
bap. Oct. 21, 1707, (see Capt. Jacob, above) and a son Ben- 
jamin, bap. Apr. 1, 1710. 

Corsen and Elsey Ayro mar. Nov., 1801. 

Hiram J., of New Springville, is the son of Cornelius V. 
B. ; he was the son of Richard ; and he was the son of Cor- 
nelius. 

Note. — We copy, as a curiosity, an inscription on a grave- 
stone in the Port Richmond Ref. Church grave-yard, as 
follows : 

"Her legt het lighaam van Jacob Corsen, Zoon Van Jacob 
A. Corsen, Jun r , Deezer Werreld overleeden den 6 : 9 ber : 
1748 oud zynde 15 Manden en 14 Dagen." 

Here lies the body of Jacob Corsen, son of Jacob A. Cor- 
sen, Jun., who departed this world November 6, 1748, 15 
months and 14 days old. 

This was undoubtedly the infant son of Jacob and Cor- 
nelia, whose baptism is noticed in the text. 

* Daniel and Elizabeth Bogart his wife, had also three other sons, John, Dan- 
iel and Richard ; Richard married Elizabeth Egbert, and they were the parents 
of Mr. Abraham E. Corsen, of Mariner's Harbor. Daniel built the stone-house 
still standing near the Richmond Turnpike, and now the property of A. C. Brad- 
ley, Esq. ; subsequently he owned a farm on the Clove road, now or recently the 
property of Haynes Lord, Esq., where he died, and the place came into the pos- 
session of his son Richard. William Howe Corsen lived to have a family of his 
own ; a short time previous to the war of 1812, he was murdered, and his body 
concealed under a bridge on the public road. Evidently he had been robbed. 
The perpetrators of the crime were never detected. 



ANJSTALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 363 

CORTELYOU. 

This name, in some of the old records, is written Corteleau ; 
it is of French origin, but changed through a long residence 
in Holland, previous to emigration to America. The family 
was in this country at an early date ; Jacques Cortelliau (so 
written by himself,) was the surveyor, who, in 1657, laid out 
the town of New Utrecht, on Long Island, into 20 lots, of 50 
acres each, one of which was assigned to him for his resi- 
dence. He came to America in 1652, for in 1687, when the 
inhabitants of Kings County took the oath of allegiance to 
James II, the name of Jaques Corteljou is found among 
them, with a note attached, that he had then been in the 
country 35 years. He had four sons, all of whom had been 
born on Long Island ; their names were Jacques, Jr., Cor- 
nells, Pieter, Willem ; still, in the assessment roll of New 
Utrecht, for the year 1676, neither of their names appear. 
The family on Staten Island is undoubtedly descended from 
that of Long Island, though when the removal took place, is 
uncertain ; a part of them remained on Long Island, as in 
1738 we find the names of " pijeter kartelijou," and "ailte 
kartelijou," still at New Utrecht. The first mention of the 
name in the church records on Staten Island, is that of 
Jaques, and his wife Jacomyntie (Jemima) Van Pelt, who 
had a daughter Debora, bap. Dec. 26, 1720. Aaron, who 
was born 1726, and died Aug. 22, 1789, was undoubtedly the 
son of Jacques and Jacomyntie, as they appear to have been 
the only family of the name on Staten Island. Aaron had 
a son Peter, born Dec. 27, 1768, and died Feb. 3, 1857, and 
he was the father of the present representative of the family, 
Judge Lawrence H., of Fresh Kill. Aaron was one of the 
original members of the Moravian Church. There was a 
Jacob, probably a brother of Peter, born Aug. 26, 1760, and 
died Feb. 7, 1817. There is a record of a Peter, who married 
Sarah Yan Pelt, Dec. 31, 1801. 



364 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 



CRIPS. 

This family can scarcely be numbered among the old 
families of the county, though at one time they were toler- 
ably numerous ; they are now almost extinct. The earliest 
notice we have found in the marriage of John Crips and 
Margaret Bety (Beatty) Jan. 5, 1761, they had a son Wil- 
liam, born Apr. 28, 1764. 

William and Sarah had daughter Elizabeth, bap. June 23, 
1771. 

Thomas and Mary Perine were married Nov. — , 1791. 

James and Elizabeth Blake were married Oct. 1, 1801. 

There was a Richard, mentioned in the county records in 
1766. 



CROCHERON. 

One branch of this family, which once was numerous, but 
is now disappearing, is represented by Mr. Daniel GJ-. Cro- 
cheron, of Graniteville ; Mr. Abraham Crocheron, of New 
Springville, represents another branch, both having descended 
from the same original progenitor. Joseph, Daniel Gr., Abra- 
ham, Stephen, David and George, were the sons of Daniel 
Crocheron and Eliza Wood his wife, who were married August 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 365 

3, 1791. Daniel was the son of Abraham and Margaret his wife, 
and was born Jan. 15, 1770. Abraham was the son of Daniel 
and Maria Dnpuy his wife, and was baptised March 30, 1740, 
and died June 28, 1806. Mr. Abraham Crocheron, of New 
Springville, is the son of Abraham, who was born Jan. 6, 
1790, and he was the son of Abraham and Jane his wife. 

The first mention of the family in the county records is of 
John, in 1698 ; subsequently, but in the same year, mention 
is made of Nicholas, so that there were two individuals of the 
name of Crocheron in the county at that early date, but we have 
no means of knowing in what degree of relationship they stood 
to each other, if any. Henry Crocheron and Nannie his wife 
had the following sons : John, born April 13, 1770; Henry, born 
Dec. 26, 1772 ; Jacob, born August 23, 1774, (he married Mary 
Oakley, Feb. 22, 1797; he was Sheriff of the County, etc.,) 
and Reuben, baptized September 24, 1789. Abraham Cro- 
cheron and Elizabeth his wife had a son Nicholas, born August 
9, 1761, and died December 30, 1817, (he was familiarfy known 
as " Squire Nick,") Henry, born March 22, 1766. 

There was another Abraham, and Margaret his wife, who 
had a son Daniel, born January 15, 1770. 

Daniel and Sarah his wife had a daughter Mary, born April 
8, 1775. 

John Crocheron and Jenny his wife, had a daughter Mary, 
born March 4, 1773. 

Abraham and Mary Prall his wife had a son Abraham, 
born Sept. 4, 1787, and a son Benjamin, baptized June 28, 
1789. (Benjamin died a few years ago on the Old Place Road ; 
his wife was Susannah Prall, his cousin. Abraham, the 
father, formerly owned the farm now a part of New Brighton). 

Another Daniel had a son Daniel born June 9, 1788. 

John and Hannah Housman were married February 10, 
1792. 

Daniel and Jane Jones were married November 29, 1798. 

Nicholas and Winant were married May 28, 1801 . 

The Crocheron family have been prominent in the county ; 
Henry was Member of Congress 1815 — '17. Jacob was Mem- 



366 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

ber of Congress 1829 — '31 ; Presidential elector in 1836 ; 
Sheriff 1802, 1811 and 1821. 

Nicholas was Member of Assembty, 1854. 

Richard was County Treasurer, and Surrogate, 1836, and 
for several years thereafter. 

The family is of French descent. 



CRUSER. 

Cruise, Ceoes, Kroesen, &c. The family is of Dutch 
descent. 

It is impossible now to ascertain when Garret, who is pro- 
bably the first of the name in America, emigrated. In 1676, 
we find him rated in Breucklyn, but after that date his name 
does not appear among the freeholders of that place. It is 
probable that he removed to Staten Island the following year, 
for then Sir Edmond Andross granted him a patent for 160 
acres of land on Staten Island. On Long Island he had but 
28 acres. He had, probably, the following sons, Hendrick, 
Cornelius, Dirk or Derick, Garret and Jan. Hendrick, who 
was perhaps the eldest, had several children baptized on 
Staten Island between 1698 and 1716. Cornelius married 
Helena Van Tuyl, probably a daughter of Otto Van Tuyl, 
and had the following children baptized here : 
Hendrick, Oct. 10, 1731. 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 367 

Abraham, July 29, 1733, died March 11, 1770. 
Cornelius, Aug. 8, 1736. 
Derick had the following children baptized here : 
Nicklas, May 6, 1696. 
Derick, Oct. 22, 1701. 
Hendrick, July 3, 1707. 
Garret had the following children baptized here : 
Cornelius, Oct. 23, 1711. 
Derick, Oct. 18, 1713. 
Garret, April 1, 1717. 
Jan had a daughter Elizabeth, baptized July 14, 1713. 
Cornelius, son of Cornelius and grandson of Garret, married 
Beeltje de Groot, and had a son Cornelius, baptized Aug. 
26, 1759. 

Abraham, son of Cornelius, and grandson of Garret, 
married Antye Simonson, and had a son Johannes, or John, 
baptized June 4, 1760. 

(This John had a daughter Elizabeth, baptized May 10, 
1789.) 

Garret, son of Garret and grandson of the original Garret* 
married Claartje (Clara, Clare, Clarissa) Blencroft, and had a 
daughter Cornelia, baptized Aug. 27, 1740 ; a daughter 
Clarissa, baptized Oct. 11, 1748, and a son Hendrick June 24, 
1752, and others. 

Garret, son of Hendrick and grandson of the original Garret, 
married Gertrude Yan Tuyl, and had the following children : 
Hendrick, baptized Dec. 8, 1723. 
Femitje (Euphemia ?) Sept, 13, 1728. 
Abraham, Aug. 6, 1732. 
The late Morris H. Cruser and brothers are the direct de- 
scendants of John, mentioned above. 

The family were once numerous and prominent, but like 
many other of the old families, is disappearing. 



368 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

CIJBBERLY. 

This family is of English descent, but came to Staten 
Island from New Jersey. The name originally was written 
Coverle, but by some unaccountable metamorphosis, has be- 
come so changed that the owners of the original name, were 
they living, would not recognize their own legitimate descend- 
ants. 

The first of the name on Staten Island was Isaac, who re- 
sided here in 1769. Probably he came here a young man, 
for he married here, in the Journeay family. His sons were 
Stephen, Joseph, James, Thomas and Isaac. Isaac married 
an English woman named Broughton, and had two sons — 
William, now living in New Jersey, and James, once clerk 
of the county ; Mrs. Charles E. Racy, of West New Brighton, 
is also his daughter. Isaac resided at the noted locality 
known as " The Elm Tree," where, though a large part of 
his property is now submerged by the waters of the ocean, 
his dwelling house still stands. 

There is another branch of the family which we are unable 
to trace, viz. : Joseph and Auder (sic) his wife had a son 
James, born Oct. 18, 1776 ; this James married Eleanor Ralph, 
January 20, 1799. The late William Cubberly, of Port 
Richmond, is descended from this branch. 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 369 

DECKER. 

This family is by far the most numerous, as well as one of 
the oldest, on the Island. Its progenitor was Johannes De 
Decker, who arrived here in April, 1655. He was a promi- 
nent man in the colony, filling various offices of responsi- 
bility, and after a public service of many years, finally set- 
tled down for the remainder of his life on his farm of 120 
acres, on Staten Island. His numerous descendants have so 
frequently intermarried, that at this day it is worse than use- 
less to attempt to trace their genealogy. Some of the elder 
members retained the prefix De, but it has long ago fallen 
into disuse. Mattheus De Decker, probably a son of Jo- 
hannes, had 

A son John, bap. Sep. 7, 169 — . 

A son Abraham, Oct. 21, 1707. 

A daughter Elizabeth, Apr. 17, 1711, and 

A son Mattheus, , 1715 ; to this baptism Pieter De 

Decker was sponsor, who was also probably a son of Johan- 
nes. 

This Pieter and Susanna Hetfeel (Hatfield,) his wife, had 
the following children baptized : 

A daughter Maria, Sep. 21, 1718. 

A son Johannes, July 24, 1720. 

A daughter Susanna, May 24, 1724. 

A daughter Sara, Oct. 23, 1726. 

A son Mattheus, June 10, 1728. 

A daughter Eva, Mar. 26, 1732, and 

A son Abraham, Apr. 7, 1735. 
John — probably a son of Mattheus — and Maria Swaim, had 
a daughter bap. July 3, 1726, Charles Decker, sponsor, who 
was probably another son of Johannes. 
John (son of Pieter) and Nancy, or Anna Merrell, had 

A son Johannes, bap. Apr. 19, 1743, and 

A son Richard, Apr. 26, 1748. 
Charles, (above-mentioned,) and Lena Swaim, had 



370 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

A son Matthys, bap. Apr. 5, 1730, died in infancy. 
A son Mattheus, bap. Mar. 16, 1733, and 
A daughter, Jan. 8, 1738. 

Richard, known as Col., born May 15, 1747, died May 26, 
1817 ; his mother was a Merrill (see above), and his wife was 
Wyncha Merrill. The} 7 had a son Richard, bap. Oct. 26, 
1788. 

Matthew, (son of Charles) and Merrian, his wife, had 
A son Israel, bap. Aug. 28, 1763, and Israel had a 
daughter bap. Feb. — , 1788. 

John (son of John, above) and Elizabeth, his wife, had 
A son Reuben, born Aug. 6, 1766, and 

Reuben and Mary Swaim were married July 25, 1790. 

Abraham and Phebe his wife had 
A son Noah, born Mar. 26, 1773, and 
A son Charles, born Apr. 10, 1775. 

Moses and Elizabeth Wood were married April, , 1769. 

Matthias and Lidde (Lydia) Milburn were married Nov. 
, 1775. 

Isaac and Margaret Jones were married Aug. 7, 1791. 

Jacob and Leah Depue were married June 5, 1796. 

Sylvanus and Sarah Parker were married Oct. 24, 1800. 

Isaac and Elizabeth Christopher were married Oct. 13, 1804. 

Matthew made his will Apr. 26, 1787, proved Sep. 15, 1787, 
in which he mentions his wife Catharine, son of Matthew, a 
minor, and daughters Margaret, Elsie, Elizabeth, Ann and 
Catharine, who was lame. 

Hon. John Decker, of Port Richmond, represents one 
branch of this family ; his brothers were Matthias, Benjamin 
and David, the two first deceased. Their father was David, 
and their mother Catharine Decker; David's brothers were 
John, Benjamin and Abraham ; they were the sons of Benja- 
min and Mary Egbert, and Benjamin was the son either of 
Matheus, son of Charles, or Mattheus son of Pieter, probably 
the latter. 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 371 

De GROOT. 

This family, though originally French, and known as Le 
Grand, for centuries past has been regarded as Dutch, the 
name by which it is now known being simply a translation of 
the French name. The eminent scholar and advocate, Hugo 
de Groot, otherwise known as Grotius, was a member of this 
tamily. Motley, in his life of John of Barneveld, says of him : 
" He was then (June 5th, 1619) just 36 years old. Although 
comparatively so young, he had been long regarded as one of 
the great luminaries of Europe for learning and genius. Of 
an ancient and knightly race, his immediate ancestors had 
been as famous for literature, science and municipal abilities, 
as their more distant progenitors for deeds of arms in the 
feudal struggles of Holland in the middle ages. His father 
and grandfather had alike been eminent for Hebrew, Greek 
and Latin scholarship, and both had occupied high positions 
in the University of Leyden from the beginning. Hugo, born 
and nurtured under such quickening influences, had been a 
scholar and poet almost from his cradle. He wrote respecta- 
ble Latin verses at the age of seven ; he was matriculated at 
Leyden at the age of eleven. When fourteen, he took his 
bachelor' s degree. On leaving the University, he was attached 
to the embassy of Barneveld, and Justinus van Nassau to 
the Court of Henry IV. In France, before he was fifteen, he 
received from the University of Orleans the degree of Doctor 
of Laws. At seventeen he was an Advocate in full practice 
before the Supreme tribunals of the Hague, and when twenty- 
three years old he was selected by Prince Maurice from a list 
of three candidates for the important post of Fiscal or Attor- 
ney-General of Holland. At twenty-six he published Mare 
Liberum — a little later, his work on the Antiquity of the 
Batavian Republic. At twenty-nine he had completed his 
Latin History of the Netherlands. His great work on the 
Rights of War and Peace was afterwards written." * * * 

There were two emigrants of this name to America, viz., 



372 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

Willein Pietersen de Groot, wife and five children, came 
over in April, 1662, in the ship called the "Hope;" and 
Staes de Groot, who came over in the " Spotted Cow," the 
succeeding April. 

The name is not found in any of the old State documents, 
except upon Staten Island and in Albany county. The emi- 
grants settled in these places, the latter on Staten Island. The 
earliest notice in our local records is as follows : 

Johannes (a son of Staes) and Elizabeth Seckkels his wife 
had the following children : 

Peter, bap. April 2d, 1729. 

Robert, bap. Oct. 10th, 1731. 

Johannes, bap. Feb. 1st, 1735. 
Peter married Claartje (Clare) Post, and had the following 
children : 

Garret, bap. Aug. 25th, 1751. 

John, bap. May 2d, 1753. 

Katrina, bap. July 27th, 1755. 

Gertrude, bap. July 17th, 1758. 
John, son of Peter, married Mary Wood, and they were 
the parents of Jacob de Groot, who died March 11th, 1875, 
aged 86 years, and grand-parents of Alfred de Groot, the 
present representative of the family in this county. 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 373 

DE HART. 

Of the ancestors of this family on the Island, there is but 
little to be learned from the local records ; what we have been 
able to glean is as follows : 
Daniel had a son Daniel, bap. Oct. 22, 1707. 

A daughter , April 17, 1711. 

A son Matthias, bap. , 1815. 

A son Samuel, bap. 1717, died May 17, 1798. 
Baltus and Mary Phillipse, had daughter Catalyn, bap. 
1746 or -'7. 

Matthias, born Aug. 21, 1749 ; died Oct. 20, 1840. 
Edward had a son Jacob, bap. Oct. 24, 1790. 



DEPUY. 

Depuy, Pew, Dupue, Depeue, Depew, &c. 

At the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, there was a Prot- 
estant family of this name in Languedoc. Two brothers of 
this family, Philip and David, then fled to Holland, and be- 
came officers in the army of William of Orange ; they ac- 
companied him to England, and were both killed at the bat- 
tle of the Boyne. Another brother, Samuel, was an officer 
in the British army, and served in the Low Countries. But 
some of the name were in America before the Revocation. 
In 1662, Nicolas du Pui, with his wife and three children, 
came to this country in the ship called the "Purmerland 
Church ;" he probably settled on Staten Island, and was the 



374 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

progenitor of tbe family here, as we find his baptismal name 
perpetuated among them. If this assumption is correct, then 
the names of two of the three children were John and Francis, 
for we find them mentioned in the public records as early as 
1680; John as defendant in a suit in March of that year, and 
Francis as owning a tract of woodland near Fresh Kill, in 
December of that year. We do not meet with the name of 
Francis after that date, but find the name of John again, in 
the church record, as having a daughter Elizabeth baptized 
Oct. 22, 1707, and a son Moses, July 22, 1714. 

Nicolas, perhaps a grandson of the original, and Neeltje 
(Cornelia) Dekker had the following children : 

A daughter, bap. Apr. 6, 1724. 

A son, John, bap. June 27, 1725. 

A son, Matthew, bap. Oct 8, 1726. 

A son, Nicolas, bap. June 4, 1730. 

A son, Moses, bap. Oct. 27, 1732. 

A son, Aaron, bap. Aug. 26, 1739. 
Nicholas, last mentioned, was supervisor of Westfield, 
1766, &c. 

John, last mentioned, and his wife Sarah, had a son Nich- 
olas, bap. , 1757. 

Moses, last mentioned, and his wife Leah, had the follow- 
ing children : 

John, born Jan. 10, 1759. 

Nicholas, born June 3, 1766. 

Moses, born Jan. 17, 1769. 
Barent, who probably was another son of Nicolas, and 
Neltje, and his wife Elsie Poillon, had the following children : 

Martha, bap. May 20, 1750. 

Elsie, bap. Dec. 9, 1739. 
There was a Barent, who made his will June 4, 1792, which 
was probated Aug. 17, 1792, in which he speaks of his wife 
Mary, and the followiug children : Nicholas, Barent, Daniel, 
Abraham, Mary, Elsie, Sally and Elizabeth. These two 
named Barents may be identical, but if so, he was twice mar- 
ried, and his daughter Martha was dead when he made his 
will. 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 375 

DISOSWAY. 

The name of Du Secoy is found among the Huguenot fami- 
lies who left France before the Revocation of the Edict of 
Nantes. It has been ascertained, from the State records, that 
Marcus, Job, Peter, Israel, and Susanne, settled on Staten 
Island, opposite Perth Amboy, more than two centuries ago. 
The name of Marcus is mentioned in the colonial history in 
1673, petitioning for men to be sent to Court at Fort William 
Henry. A portion of the land originally purchased by this 
family (500 acres), and the stone house erected upon it, is 
still owned and occupied by some of the descendants. Like 
many other French names, unpronouncable to English and 
Dutch tongues, this has undergone various changes in the 
course of two hundred years. In the Dutch Church baptis- 
mal records, the oldest and most reliable authority, it is 
always written Du Secoy and Du Secay. In the County re- 
cords, often copied by careless or illiterate clerks, the name is 
spelled Dus Soucboy, Dusway, Dusuchoy, Dussoway, Des- 
soway, Dusosway, Disosway. The fact that the original em- 
igrants were Huguenots, is evidence of their individual piety, 
and it is said that, during the war of the Revolution, though . 
surrounded by enemies, they were firm in their adherence to 
the cause of their country. 

There are several of the name mentioned in the County 
records as having purchased land as early as 1687. The fol- 
lowing are taken from old church records : 

Marcus Du Secoy had a son Gabriel, bap. Apr. 20, 1703, at 
which Susanna Du Secoy was sponsor ; these were, probably, 
two of the original emigrants. As there was no Gabriel 
among them, it was the Gabriel whose baptism we have just 
noticed, who was sponsor at the baptism of his relative' s (prob- 
ably sister's) child, in Jan., 1725, when Dina Du Secoy, wife 
of Henrick Bries, had a daughter baptized ; she had had a 
son Henrick baptized three years previous. 

Israel, and Gertrude Van Deventer, his wife, had a daugh- 
ter baptized June 3, 1722. 



376 ANNALS OF- STATEN ISLAND. 

Job, and Sara Deny, his wife, had a son Johannes baptized 
September 22, 1723. 

Cornelius, and Catharine, his wife, had a daughter Ann, 
baptized December 9, 1757. 

Mark and Eliza Cortelyou married November 2, 1790. 



DUBOIS. 

Sometimes written Duboys, Debaa, &c. 

This was a large family, some of them residing in Brittany, 
and some in French Flanders. Antoine Dubois, and some of 
his relatives, fled to England as early as 1583, to escape per- 
secution for their religious opinions. It is not known when 
the family first came on the Island, nor who was the first 
of the name ; the earliest name mentioned in the church 
record is that of Louis du Bois, Jun., whose wife's name was 
Catharine Van Brunt ; they had a son Samuel who was 
baptised Dec. 11, 1737. They had also a son Benjamin, and 
a son John. Benjamin became a minister of the Reformed 
Dutch Church in 1764, and was immediately settled over the 
churches of Freehold and Middletown, N. J., where he re- 
mained sixty-three years. 

John and Hester his wife had a daughter Mary, born June 
27, 1766 ; he made his will Jan. 17, 1793, which was proved 
Feb. 1, 1794, in which be speaks of his wife Hester ; his 
daughters, Hester, wife of Lewis Prall ; Martha, wife of 
Daniel Winants ; Elizabeth, wife of Charles Laforge ; and 
Mary, wife of James Laforge, and his son Richard. 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 377 

There was another John who had a son, Nathaniel R., and 
died at the age of 87 ; his son, Nathaniel, died in May, 1874, 
age 85 years ; his wife "was Frances Butler. 

Lewis and Jane Mersereau married Jan. 12, 1804. 

The family, once tolerably numerous and highly respect- 
able, are almost extinct in the county. 



DUSTAN. 

This family has for many years been identified with the 
Island. William and Peter were natives of Scotland, and 
emigrated to America at an early age. The former, locally 
known as Major Dustan, was born September 11th, 1759, and 
died on Staten Island, May 23d, 1841, nearly 82 years of age. 
He left one son, Isaac Kip, whose melancholy death is re- 
corded on his monument in the Moravian Cemetery,as follows: 

"This monument is erected a tribute of esteem to the 
memory of Isaac Kip Dustan, aged 38 years and 7 months, 
who lost his life while in the discharge of his duties as Cap- 
tain of the ill-fated Steamer Atlantic, off Fisher's Island, 
during the memorable gale of the 28th of November, 1846." 

The monument is surmounted by a marble bell, on which 

is the following epitaph. 

" Far, far o'er the waves, like a funeral knell, 
Mournfully sounds the Atlantic's bell. 
'Tis the knell of the dead, but the living may hear : 
'Tis a warning to all, mid the opening year. 
In the midst of our life, as we draw out each breath, 
How swiftly we haste to the caverns of death ; 
May the fate of the lost one our own warning be 
Like a death- knell rung out o'er life's treacherous sea." 



378 ANNALS OF STATED ISLAND. 

Capt. Dustan was a man of powerful frame, with a com- 
manding presence, and a universal favorite. He married a 
daughter of the late Charles M. Simonson, and left one son, 
Charles, who, during the late rebellion, entered the Union 
army as a private, and gradually rose to the rank of Brigadier- 
General. He is now a resident of the State of Alabama, and 
a member of its Legislature. The wife of Geo. J. Greenfield, 
Esq., of Edgewater, is also his daughter. 



EDDY. 



The present representatives of this family are Cornelius C, 
of Stapleton, and his cousin James, of Huguenot, in West- 
field. The former is the son of William, who was killed by 
his horse running away, in January, 1828 ; the latter is the 
son of John, also deceased. William, John and Andrew, 
who is still living near Wood-row church, Westfield, were 
brothers and sons of William, the first of the name, who 
came here from New Jersey, during the war of the Revolu- 
tion, with the intention of remaining but a short time ; but 
either the refusal of a pass, or protracted delay in furnishing 
it, detained him on the Island, until finally, having probably 
formed some attachment, he relinquished the idea of return- 
ing, and settled permanently. 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 379 



EGBERT. 

The first emigrant of this name was probably Govert 
Egbert, who came to America in the ship called the " Spotted 
Cow," in 1660, but it is not certain that he ever lived on Staten 
Island. 

The first mention of the name in connection with the Island, 
is that of Tunis, who bought land in 1698, and sold land to 
John Androvat in January, 1699. The tradition, in one 
branch of the family, is that some of the grandsons of this 
Tunis are still living, which is improbable, unless we accord 
to him an extraordinary length of life, as well as to his son 
Johannes or John. If this Tunis married Petronella Dupuy, 
then his son John was bap. Dec. 1745, and his sons, in the 
order of their birth, were Joseph, John, Tunis, Samuel, Ed- 
ward, Thomas, Holmes, Cornelius, Henry, and William. Of 
these are still living (1876) Edward, on the Manor road, 
Castleton ; Cornelius,* on the Amboy road, Southfield, and 
William at Graniteville. If the above is reliable, then prob- 
ably the same Tunis had another son named Abraham, (born 
Sep. 21, 1747, died Oct. 2, 1816), who was father of the fol- 
lowing sons, viz.: Abraham, Joseph, Tunis, Cornelius, John, 
Stephen, James and Edward ; two sons and seventeen grand- 
sons, besides grand-daughters and daughters, whose names 
are not given. We subjoin the following, indiscriminately, 
as we have collected them from several records. 

James is mentioned in the county records in 1724, and again 
in 1766. 

Peter is also mentioned in 1767. 

Tunis, probably a son of the original Tunis, born 1720, and 
died May 19, 1805. 

Tunis born Jan. 11, 1759, died Nov. 5, 1825. 

Moses and his wife Caty had a son Abraham, born Nov. 8, 
1768, "about 3 o'clock." 

* Vide App. N. (68.) 



380 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

Moses, the above, was born Oct. 21, 1742, and died Nov. 
13, 1831. 

Jacus (James?) and Trie ntje Backer (Baker?) had a 
daughter bap. Oct. 11, 1743. 

Abraham and Elizabeth Gerresen had a daughter bap. Apr. 
17, 1744, and a son Benjamin, born Aug. 25, 1768. 

Abraham and Francyntje Parain (Francina Ferine) had a 
son Abraham, born May 22, 1715 ; a son John, bap. Apr. 10, 
1720 ; a daughter Elizabeth, bap. June 17, 1722. 

Jacobus (James) and Catharine Deny had a son Johannes, 
bap. J uly 14, 1 723 ; a son Laurens, bap. Mar. 24, 1724. 

Jaques and Catharine Bakker (Baker?) had a daughter 
Susannah, bap. Nov. 4, 1733, identical with the above Jacus. 

Anthony and his wife Mary had a son Reuben, born Sep. 
13, 1770, "on Thursday, about 10 of the clock in y e Morning." 

A daughter Martha, "born April 25 about 10 of y e clock 
in y e morning, 1772, on Saterday." 

A daughter Eleanor, "born Aug. 7 about one of y e clock in 
y e morning 1774." 

John and Catharine his wife had twins, Tunis and Eleanor, 
born Nov. 11, 1771." 

Barney and Ann Taylor married Oct. 4, 1801. 



ENYARD. 

In the County records is found the name of Jollis Inyard, 
who purchased land on the Island as early as 1687, and sold 
land in 1692. In 1708 the same individual, under the name 



ANNALS OF STATES' ISLAND. < 381 

of Yellis Ingart, sold land. The names Jollis, Yellis, and 
Gillis are the same, being Dutch corruptions of Gfiles. He 
had a son Matthys, (Matthias) whose wife was Elizabeth 
Gerritson, and they had the following children : 

Matthys,* bap. Jan. 7, 1730. 

Gillis, bap. Dec. 17, 1732. 

Susanna, bap. May 4, 1735. 

Catharine, bap. Apr. 23, 1739. 

Elisabet, bap. Apr. 18, 1743. 

Nicklaes, bap. Apr. 22, 1746. 

Nicholas married Jemima Wood, July -, 1768. They 

had a son Elias, who was the father of Mr. John Enyard, of 
Port Richmond, and grand-father of Rev. William T. En- 
yard, pastor of the Ref. Church, Brighton Heights, S. I. 



FOUNTAIN. 

This family is of French origin. James Fontaine, or, de 
la Fountaine, as it was formerly written, the story of whose 
escape from France after the Revocation, is given by Smiles ; 
Fontaine, the French fabulist, Sir Andrew Fontaine, the 
antiquarian, and many others, eminent in science and the 
arts, are of this family. The progenitor of those of the name 
in America, was not driven from his native land by the 
Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, for there is the 
notice of a " Char el Fonteyn, a Frenchman, and wife," who 
came to America in the ship called the " Golden Beaver," in 

* Vide App. N. (69.) 



382 ANNALS OF STATEN" ISLAND. 

1658 ; there is also a record of Antone Fountain, aged 30, 
who was a witness in a suit on Staten Island, in 1680. The 
family is not as numerous in the county as formerly, some 
branches having become extinct, others having removed from 
the county. The representative of one branch of the family 
at the present day, is Mr. Vincent Fountain, of West New 
Brighton. He is the son of the late Oapt. Henry Fountain, 
who was born 1787, and died May 28th, 1867. He lived for 
many years in the large house between the Church of the 
Ascension and the building of the Young Men's Christian 
Association, on the North Shore. Capt. Henry, and his late 
brother John, of Tompkinsville, were sons of Vincent Foun- 
tain, who was born in 1748, and died Dec. 11, 1819. Vin- 
cent was probably the son of Anthony Fountain, who was 
supervisor in 1767. 

Beside the above, there is mention in the county or church 
records, of the following : 

Antone Fontayne, who purchased land in 1686 ; probably 
he was the same who was witness in a suit six years before. 

Vincent, who both bought and sold land in 1697. 

Kichard also bought in 1702. 

Anthony and Belitze (Isabella) Byvank, his wife, had a 
daughter baptized May 11, 1729. 

Anthony and Annatje Gferetson, his wife, had a son An- 
tone, baptized Nov. 3, 1754, a son John, Nov. 20th, 1757, and 
a son Cornelius, Dec. 23d, 1759. (See foot note.) 

Anthony and Susannah, his wife, had a son Charles, bap- 
tized Sep. 25th, 1756. 

John Fountain and Catharine Fountain were married Dec. 
24th, 1804. 

Note.— Cornelus Fountain died Jan. 27, 1813, and his wife 
Elizabeth lived but four days after, having died Jan 31, 1813. 
They are buried by the side of each other in a field in the 
town of Southfield, a few rods south of the Old Town road, 
and east of the S. I. Railroad. 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 383 

FROST. 

The first of this name in this county, as far as can now be 
ascertained, was Dr. Thomas Frost ; he resided at Richmond, 
and from the fact that courts, supervisors' meetings, and 
other public bodies met at his house sometimes, we infer that 
he also kept an inn or tavern. That he was a decided loyal- 
ist or tory, is evident from the indictment found against him 
hy the first grand jury which was impanelled after the evac- 
uation of the Island by the British, as may be seen in another 
place. The first court-house built in the county after the form- 
ation of the new government, was upon land purchased 
from him, which building is still standing, though in a mod- 
ernized form, and is now owned and occupied by Isaac M. 
Marsh, Esq. That Dr.> Frost was here just before the Revo- 
lution, is seen by an entry in the baptismal record of St. 
Andrew's Church, which records the fact that Thomas and 
Tamar Frost had a son named William Errell, born Febru- 
ary 17th, 1774. They had, at least, three more sons, viz., 
Samuel, Henry and John ; what became of the two last men- 
tioned, we do not positively know, but Samuel continued to 
reside on the Island ; he was twice married, the first time to 
a lady from New Jersey, the second time to Catharine Bedell, 
by whom he had one son, the late Samuel H. (see civil list.) 
Samuel H. married Louisa, daughter of the late Mr. Stephen 
Ketteltas ; their children were Henry (late supervisor of 
Middletown) and Stephen K. 



384 ANNALS OF staten island. 



GARRISON. 

Sometimes written Garretson, Geraetson, etc. 

There were several of the name emigrated from Holland ; 
the earliest were Gerret Gerretson Van Gelthuys, a tailor — 
came over, in 1658, in the ship " The Gilded Beaver." 

John Gerretson, baker, with his wife and child, came at 
the same time, and in the same ship. 

Wouter and Stotfel came over in February, 1659, in the 
"Faith." Gerret and Jan came over in December of the same 
year, in the same ship. There were several others of the 
name came over in succeeding years. 

Whether the family on the Island have all descended from 
one emigrant, or from more, it is now impossible to determine. 
The earliest mention of the name on the Island occurs in 1691, 
when Jacob gave his brother John a power of attorney to 
sell land on Smoking Point, from which we infer that Jacob 
was not a resident of the Island, and John was. From 1698 
to 1702 we find the names of Frederick, Christopher Lambert, 
(Sheriff in 1802) and Seger, all as land owners. 

Hendrick is mentioned in the County records 1768 ; he 
lived on the Clinch property, Richmond Road, near Finger- 
board Road ; his mouth, it is said, when he closed it, con- 
tracted into wrinkles, like that of some kind of fishes : he is 
said to have been remarkably athletic and active, and his 
voice was so exceeding powerful, he could make himself 
heard over a mile. His son Harmanus was born in April, 
1732, and died July 3, 1813. Harmanus' son John, (always 
named as John, Esq.) was born in 1761, and died December 
19, 1837 ; he was County Judge from 1803 to 1823, Presiden- 
tial elector in 1808, and surrogate 1820. John's son Harmanus 
was Member of Assembly, 1825 ; it was humorously said of 
him that he carried more weight in the Assembly than any 
other member, for he weighed' over 300 pounds. This Har- 
manus had three brothers, John, Jun., George and Garret ; 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

John, Jun., was Member of Assembly, 1836 ; his sons are 
Jacob C, and John of Fresh Kills. 

The venerable John C, now living at Garrison's Station, S. I. 
R. R., was born March 15, 1788 ; he is the son of John, and 
his mother was Elizabeth Conner, sister of the late Col. Rich- 
ard Conner ; his grandfather was usually called Hannis, 
which is an abbreviation of the word Johannes. 

In addition to the above, we find in the several Church 
records mention made of the following : 

Jacob, born Sept. , 1766, died July 3, 1847 ; he married 

Catharine Simonson, Jan. 18, 1789. 

John, known as Col., born 1761, died Aug. 15, 1839 ; he 
had a daughter bap. Sept. 7, 1787. 

Nicholas and Christina Van Woglom, son Abraham bap. 
Sept. 21, 1744. 

Daniel and Mary had the following children : 
Charles, born Feb. 11, 1755. 
Jacob, born June 13, 1757. 
Daniel, bap. Aug. 22, 1762. 

Daniel made his will Dec. 21, 1792, proved Dec. 5, 1793, in 
which he speaks of his wife Mary, and his children Daniel, 
Jacob, Charles, Catharine Buskirk, and Mary. 

Isaac and Maria Christopher, son Christopher bap. Mar. 21, 
1731. 

John and Susan Lake, married Dec. 23, 1806. 

Charles, Sheriff in 1730, and Adrianche, mentioned in the 
County records in 1763, we find no further traces of. 



386 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 



GUYON. 

This is an ancient and honorable French Protestant family. 
Some of them escaped at an early date from the persecutions 
in their native country, and came to America ; others re- 
mained until the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, when 
most of them escaped to Holland, but a few remained to face 
the peril. William de Guyon de Geis fled to Holland, and 
took service under William of Orange, and lost an arm in 
that service in Germany ; he died in 1740. Several of his de- 
scendants held commissions in the English army. Of those 
who remained in France, an aged pastor was arrested, and, 
upon being searched, a letter from Claude Brousson, who was 
a proscribed preacher, was found upon him, and he was forth- 
with executed, and the house at Nismes in which he was 
captured was razed to the ground, as a punishment to its 
owner for giving him shelter. The last Count Guyon was in 
the Austrian service as late as 1848. There were, probably, 
two of the family came to New York at an early date — 
Gregory and Jaques. The former lived at New Rochelle in 
1710, and was then 44 years of age, and his wife, Mary, 40. 
The latter settled on Staten Island, and received a patent 
from Sir Edmond Andross, dated March 27th, 1675, for about 
178 acres of land on Staten Island, at a quit rent of eight 
bushels of wheat. This patent is still in existence, and the 
land is still owned and occupied by one of his direct descend- 
ants, Mrs. Dr. Ephraim Clark. We find in our County re- 
cords notices of two law-suits: one, "Jacob Jeyoung against 
Isaac See, in 1678 ; the other, Jaques Jeyoung against ffrancis 
Martinoe, March 6, 1781." As he was the only individual of 
the name of Guyon, — or Jeyoung, which is nearer the French 
pronunciation— he was, without doubt, the plaintiff in both 
suits, the name Jacob being either a clerical error, or an in- 
stance of clerical ignorance. He had a son James, born Jan- 
uary 5th, 1714. James had a son James, born March 16th, 
1746, whose wife's name was Susannah, and they were the 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 387 

parents of the late Ma]'. James Guyon, father of Mrs. Clark, 
known in our civil list as James, Jun., who was born Decem- 
ber 24th, 1778, and died March 9th, 1846. He was Member 
of Assembly in 1812-13, and Representative in Congress in 
1819-20. He was married three times : first, to Ann Bedell, 
mother of Mrs. C. ; second, to Ann Perine ; and third, to 
Martha Seguine ; the two last were childless. 

The present Maj. James Gruyon was the son of Harmanus, 
and his wife, Elizabeth Holmes, married May 2d, 1802. Har- 
manus — usually called Harry — was Member of Assembly 
1819-20. He was the son of James by his second wife, Mar- 
garet Gfarrison, and half-brother of James, Jr. 

In the old church records of St. Andrews, we find the fol- 
lowing, which we are unable to place : 

John and Elizabeth Butler married January 12th, 1800. 

Cornelius and Getty Mersereau married May 16th, 1807. 



HATFIELD. 

The tradition of the family is that James Hatfield and a 
brother came from England long before the Revolution ; the 
brother settled in New Jersey, but James on Staten Island. 
During the war, James was a decided whig, a rare occurence, 
particularly on Staten Island, and was incarcerated by the 
British, or tories, somewhere in New Jersey, but was shortly 
released by the Americans. His sons were James and John 
D., who was born April 5, 1777, and died December 3d, 1856 ; 
he married Mary, daughter of Jacob Van Pelt, and they 
were the parents of the following children : 

John, Moses, (both whom were lost at sea in December, 



388 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

1830) ; Maria, wife of Capt. J. W. Barnes, of Port Richmond ; 
Jacob died in infancy ; Jacob, born March 17, 1817, and 
still living in Port Richmond. 

There is a record of a Benjamin Hatfield, who married 
Nanne Merrill, January 10th, 1765, and of Susanna Hatfield, 
who was the wife of Pieter Decker, and had a child baptized 
as early as 1718. (See the Decker family). Whether these 
were members of the same family, it is impossible now to de- 
termine, unless there is an error in the family tradition. 



HAUGHWOUT. 

The date of the arrival, and the name of the progenitor of 
this family, are lost. It was never very numerous, and the 
notices of it in the county and church records are few. The 
earliest mention of it is where Egbert Haughwout was sponsor 
at a baptism Apr. 20, 1709, and where Peter Haughwout sold 
land in 1708. Egbert had a daughter bap. May 4, 1714, and 
Peter and Neltje (Cornelia) Bakker his wife, had eight chil- 
dren baptized between 1710 and 1736. 

Jan and Elizabeth Hooglaut had a daughter baptized Oct. 
16, 1720. 

Peter and Aaltje (Alida) Bennett, of Long Island, had the 
following children : 

A daughter Neltje (Cornelia), bap. July 28, 1751. 
A son Peter, June 24, 1752. 
A son Nicholas, Mar. 12, 1758, and 
A son Wynant, Apr. 20, 1760 
He owned a large property at the locality now known as 
Willow Brook, or the Gain Factory, in Northfield. He made 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 389 

his will Dec. 15, 1787, probated Sep. 6, 1792, in which he 
speaks of his wife Alle (or Altje), his sons Peter, Nicholas 
and Wynant, and his daughters Alle Webb, deceased, Nelly 
Cozine, deceased, and his grand-children, the children of his 
daughter Nelly, and Alettee, Garrett, Peter and Jacobus. 

His son Peter was the father of the late Peter N., of Port 
Eichmond. His son Wynant was the father of Simon, gro- 
cer, of Grraniteville, and his son Nicholas was father o£ 
Nicholas, now deceased, who was engaged in the oyster busi- 
ness, and was the first to introduce oysters "on the Canal 
Street plan"— that is, stewed or otherwise cooked, before 
which they could only be procured raw. 

Egbert and Elenor Grarebrantz had a son Daniel, bap. Mar. 
8, 1782. 

Nicholas had a daughter bap. Aug. 6, 1786. 
Wynant had a son Isaac bap. Oct. 28, 1787. 
Peter had a son Daniel, bap. June 7, 1788. 



HILLYER. 

John Hillyer, sometimes written Hilliard, lived on Staten 
Island in 1693, and married Elizabeth Dey in 1714. 

Their children were John, (supervisor in 1767) Elizabeth, 
Mary, James, William, Nathaniel, Simon and Lawrence. 

The present families of the name are descended from the 
youngest son Lawrence. His son John (sheriff in 1799 and 
1819), was born in July, 1763, and died in July, 1848.^ His 
wife Elsie Merrill was born in November, 1768, and died in 
August, 1858. Their children were Lawrence, (sheriff in 1831 



390 ANNALS OF STATED ISLAND. 

and Member of Assembly 1835 and 1837.) JohnB. (Member 
of Assembly 1873.) 

John B. is the father of James A., late of the firm of Pine, 
Hillyer & Co., of West New Brighton; and Abraham, of 
the firm of Hillyer and Hartley, of New Brighton, beside 
several other children. 

Other Hillyers are mentioned in the records of St. Andrew' s 
Church, as follows : 
John and Esther his wife had 
A daughter, born Sept. 19, 1756. 
A son, Nathaniel, born Oct. 2, 1765. 
A daughter, born Nov. 14, 1768. 
John, Jr., had a son Abraham, born Jan. 20, 1759. 
William and Dinah his wife had 
A daughter, born Dec. 24, 1748. 
A daughter, born Sept. 11, 1756. 
John and Mary his wife had 
A daughter, born Mar. 29, 1774. 
A son John, born April 18, 1776. 
Lawrence and Ann Larzalere married Dec. 4, 1808. 



HOLMES. 

The progenitor of this family was Obadiah, or, as he some- 
times wrote it, " o Badiah ;' ' he came from England in the 
latter half of the seventeenth century, and obtained a patent 
for a valuable tract of land in Southfield, which remained in 
the family for several generations. His name is found in the 
county records as early as 1683. There is a link missing in 
the family chain, which it now appears to be impossible tc 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 391 

supply ; there is no record of the names of his children. 
His grandson Samuel lived and died on the paternal estate, 
and had six daughters and two sons, Baker and Samuel. 
The latter married Margaret, daughter of Stephen Cole, and 
had the following children : Samuel, James, John, Cornelius, 
Van Renselaer, George W. Eliza, and Ann wife of David 
Mersereau, of Northfield. Several of these are still living. 



HOUSMAN. 

We have no means of ascertaining when the first of this name 
came to America from Holland. The earliest mention of the 
name is found in the assessment roll of Boswyck (Bushwick) 
L. I:, where the name of Charles Housman occurs in the years 
1675 and 1676. The earliest mention of the name in a church 
record on Staten Island is as follows : 

John and Wynje Symons (Simonson) had 
A daughter, bap. Sept. 4, 1726. 
A son Aart (Aaron or Arthur) May 24, 1730. 

A daughter , June 1, 1732. 

A son Dirk, Feb. 29, 1736, died July 29, 1807. 
A son Abraham, Dec. 9, 1739. 
A daughter Elizabeth, Oct. 11, 1743, and 
A daughter Jemima, July 19, 1748. 
Isaac, born Nov. 4, 1775, died Dec. 2, 1857 ; he was married 
to Hannah Perine Apr. 9, 1807. 

Peter had a daughter bap. Aug. 6, 1785, and another Dec. 
7, 1788. 

The most prominent members of the family were John, 
who was many years one of the inferior Judges of the Com- 



392 ^ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

mon Pleas, Member of Assembly 1.804, Surrogate 1809, and 
Supervisor repeatedly. 

Isaac P. was also one of the Judges, Member of Assembly, 
1823, and Supervisor repeatedly. The Sailors' Snug Harbor 
property was purchased from him. 

Notices of the family are extremely meagre in our county 
records. 

James made his will Nov. 1, 1801, proved Sep. 22, 1803, in 
which he speaks only of his brothers Anthony and Jacob. 



JACOBSON. 

This was a Danish family. The first of the name found in 
our records, is Christian, who is mentioned in the article on 
the Moravian Church. His son, John Van De venter, was 
born in 1768, and died in 1826. He had the following sons : 
Peter, dec. ; Cornelius, living on Long Island— he married a 
daughter of Isaac P. Housman, Esq. ; Bedell, dec. ; Israel, 
dec. ; Abraham, dec. 



JOHNSON. 



It is impossible to trace the Johnson's back to their several 
progenitors in this county. Evidently they are not of the 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 393 

same origin ; the name is English, but some of them are of 
Dutch extraction, having Anglicised the Dutch name of Jan- 
sen. We give extracts from the various records indiscrimi- 
nately, leaving each one of the name to appropriate his own 
ancestors. The earliest is : 

Peter, who was plaintiff in a law suit in 1680. 

Thomas and Ann Bouwman, son Casper, bap. June 30, 
1728. 

Johannes and Jannetje (Jane) Grlascow, son Thomas, bap. 
Feb. 29, 1736. 

Nathaniel and Sophia Van Gelder, sonHenricks, bap. Nov. 
19, 1738. 

Niers and Sara Morgen had daughters bap. 1731, 1739 and 
1740. 

Peter and Mary Taylor, married Oct. 24, 1754. 

Isaac and Elender Bowman married — , 1764. 

Peter and Malli (Molly) Lister, son Jouneton (Jonathan) 
bap. Oct. 2, 1755. 

John and Cornelia Ceilo, son Peter, bap. Nov. 7, 1753. 

The above are from the Dutch Church records, except the 
marriages of Isaac and Peter, which with the following are 
from St. Andrews. 

Dowe and Margaret, daughter Ann, born May 7, 1771. 

Dowe made his will Nov. 10, 1783, proved June 7, 1788, in 
which he mentions his sons Dowe and James. 

Winant and Mary had daughter Sophia, born Dec. 17, 
1772, and son David born Apr. 13, 1774. 

Winant, not the above, made his will June 18, 1803, proved 
June 30, 1803, in which he mentions his wife Mary and sons 
Winant and Jesse ; these sons married — Winant, Catharine 
Guyon, Nov. 26, 1797, and Jesse, Rachel Totten Jan. 11, 1804. 

Mattice (Matthias) had a son William, born July 17, 1751, 
who was baptized May — , 1772, then an adult. 

Gfeorge had a son Thomas, born Aug. 17, 1771. 

Isaac and Ploney (Appolonia) Frome, married Mar. — , 
1772. 

Nathaniel and Catharine Woglom, married Nov. 9, 1791. 



394 ANNALS OF STATES" ISLAND. 

Lewis and Phebe Van Pelt, married Dec. 24, 1793. 

John born , 1770, died June 2d, 1832, and Patty (Mar- 
tha) Bedell, married Mar. 23, 1794. 

He was a potter, and carried on his business on the Shore 
Eoad, in the vicinity of Elm Park, Port Richmond ; they 
had the following sons : 

John, merchant at Richmond, S. I., born Jan. 3, 1795, died 
Dec. 19, 1859. 

Joseph B., merchant at Port Richmond, born Nov. — , 1796, 
died July 4, 1849. 

Israel D., merchant at Port Richmond, born Apr. 15, 1803, 
died Feb. 9, 1873 ; and James. 

Jacob, brother of the potter, married Eliza Haughwout, 
July 28, 1795 ; their sons were Peter H., James, Isaac, Ben- 
jamin and Jacob. 

William, brother of the potter, married Catharine Martling, 
Apr. 28, 1802 ; their sons were John, James, William, Ed- 
ward and Channing ; they had also a daughter Sarah, who 
married Hugh Gibson, and died Aug. 25th, 1826, in her 69th 
year ; their son John, born Feb. 13, 1803, died Nov. 3, 1865. 

Edward, brother of the potter, born Oct. 12, 1776, died Sep. 
4, 1856. 

Abraham and Jane Jennings, married Sep. 24, 1794. 

David and Jane Winant, married June 23, 1796. 

Ephraim and Catharine Laforge, married Oct. 10, 1797. 

James and Letitia Totten, married Feb. 20, 1805. 

Anthony and Fanny Oakley, married Jan. 28, 1807. 

Esek, of Tottenville, was grandson of James, and son of 
Abraham, who built one of the first houses on the Billop es- 
tate, after the sale by confiscation. 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 395 



JONES. 



There were several families of this very common name in 
the county, from early dates, between whom there appears to 
have been no relationship whatever. 

We submit a brief genealogy of some of the early families 
of this name. 

The earliest one named is Edward, whose wife was Catharine 
Decker, and they had the following children : 
Edward bap. July 20, 1718, died young. 
Mattheus, bap. Nov. 2, 1719. 
Abigail, bap. April 22, 1722. 
Edward, bap. Aug. 14, 1726. 
Mattheus, above named, married Margaritje (Margaret) 
Glowan, and they had a daughter Catharine, baptized June 7, 
1743. 

There was a John whose wife was Rachael Van Engelen, 
and they had the following children : 
Elizabeth, bap. April 10, 1732. 
Johannes, bap. March 9, 1735. 

A daughter, bap. , 1737. 

Lucretia, bap. March 30, 1740. 
Isaac, bap. April 22, 1747. 
Abraham and Jannetje Persnet had a daughter Jane, bap. 
May 2, 1753. 

Edward and Martha, his wife, had a son Abraham, born 
March 31, 1772. 



396 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 



JOURNEAY. 

Moillart Journeay, from Pays de Vaud, came to America 
in April, 1663, in the ship called "The Spotted Cow," but- 
where he settled is not known. The earliest mention of the 
family in connection with the Island, is in the county records, 
where John Journeay bought and sold land in 1700. The 
name is not again met with in any church record now in ex- 
istence, until we find it in that of St. Andrew's Church, about 
the middle of the last century, as follows : 

John and Martha his wife had the following children : 
John, born Jan. 4, 1752. 
Albert, born Mar. 8, 1755. 
Nicholas, born Aug. 22, 1756. 
William, born Aug. 6, 1759, and 
Richard, born Aug. 7, 1771. 

The above named Nicholas is mentioned in the county 
records in 1791 as Nicholas, Jun. ; there must therefore have 
been another Nicholas, whose name we have nowhere met. 

Nicholas, son of John, had a son Nicholas, bap. Nov. 1, 1789. 

Joseph and Mary Winant were married Dec. 29, 1807. 

John and Patience Cole were married July — , 1802. 

John (not the last named, unless Patience Cole was his 2d 
wife) made his will Mar. 7, 1803, proved Apr. 21, 1808, in 
which he speaks of his wife Patience, his sons Albert, Rob- 
ert, Abraham, John, William, James and Richard, and his 
daughters Martha Randolph, Catharine Fountain and Mary, 
wife of Dr. Henderson. 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 397 



LAFORGE. 



The name of De la Forge appears in the assess- 
ment roll of Boswyck (Bushwick) in 1676, and among those 
who took the oath of allegiance in Kings Connty in 1687, is 
the name of Adrian La fforge, who had then been in the 
County fifteen years. In 1738 there was an Adrian Laforge, 
who bought land on Staten Island. From the similarity of 
the name, the inference is natural that if they are not identi- 
cal, they were connected ; this is, however, conjecture. There 
appears to have been two branches of the family, the Castle- 
ton and the Westfield, who may or may not have had 
a common origin. The paucity of notices in the old records 
of the County and churches, and the absence of family 
records, renders it impossible to trace the family far. The 
present living representative of the Castleton branch is Mr. 
G. M. Laforge, of Illinois ; the late Mr. Peter D. Laforge, 
also of Illinois, and the late Capt. John Laforge, of West 
New Brighton, were his brothers ; their father was David, 
and their mother Gertrude, daughter of John Martling, (see 
Martling family) ; David's father was Peter, who was the son 
of Benjzynin ; David's brothers were Peter, John, Benjamin, 
Jacob, Richard Channing Moore; Peter, David's brother 
was the father of Mr. Peter C. and David of Port Richmond. 

Of the Westfield branch, we have only the following 
notices : 

David and Catharine had a son Henry Seguine, bap. May 
15, 1790. 

John and Phebe Bedell married Sept. 15, 1804. 

James and Catharine Winant married Feb. 8, 1806. 

David and Ann Johnson married July 8, 1807. 



398 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 



LAKE. 



This family is probably of English origin. The first men- 
tion of the name occurs in the county records, where the name 
of Daniel is recorded as having purchased land in 1696 and 
1699. Daniel, probably, had several sons, among whom were 
Joseph, Abraham, and Thomas. Joseph had a son Joseph, 
baptized April 20, 1708, who married Aaltye (Alida) Burbank, 
and had a son Abraham, baptized March 26, 1731. 

Joseph had also another son Abraham, baptized 1715. 

Abraham (Daniel's son) also had a son Joseph, baptized 
1708, and Abraham, 1715. 

Thomas, perhaps the youngest of Daniel's sons, married 
Jannetje (Jane) Stryker, and had a son Thomas, baptized Oc- 
tober 19, 1718. 

Here occurs a gap which we are unable to fill. 

Joseph, born July 8th, 1753, and his wife, Catharine, born 
June 2, 1755, both died March 14, 1813, within one hour of 
each other. They had a daughter Patience, born May 30, 
1790. 

There was another Joseph also born 1753, and died May 24, 
1843, in his 90th year. 

There was still another Joseph, born in 1773, and died 
March 16, 1854. He lived on the Manor Road near the Four 
Corners, Castleton. 

William and Mary Tysen, his wife, had the following sons : 
William, born November 16, 1769. 
Bornt, born March 25, 1771 ; killed October 27, 1815. 
Joseph, born May 12, 1777. 

Bornt had the following sons : William, Joseph, Daniel, 
and John, of whom John is still living (1876) at Graniteville. 

There was a Daniel W. born 1780, died October 6, 1835. 

Daniel and Margaret, his wife, had a son Daniel, born May 
12, 1777. 

Cornelius and Susan Androvet were married April 6, 1794. 

Joseph and Eliza Van Pelt were married January 20, 1798. 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 399 

Daniel and Margaret Jackson were married June 5, ]802. 

Daniel Lake made his will October 13, 1789, proved Sep- 
tember 4, 1792, in which he mentions his wife Sarah, his sons 
Daniel and Joseph, and his grandson Daniel, son of his son 
William, deceased. 



LARZELERE. 

The earliest mention of this name occurs in the county 
records, where Jacob bought land in 1686. Nicholas bought 
land in 1693 ; he was at one time sheriff of the county. 
There was another Jacob, probably a son of Nicholas, whose 
wife's name was Alice ; they had a son Daniel, born June 
16, 1757, and a son Benjamin, born Oct. 22, 1761. 

Nicholas, probably a brother of Jacob, whose wife' s name 
was Sarah ; they had a daughter Johanna, born Jan. 7, 1768. 

Jacob and Elsy, (or Alice, the same mentioned above,) had 
a son Richard, born June 18, 1771. 

Benjamin, (not the one mentioned above) was born July 6, 
1740, and died Oct. 6, 1802 ; he made his will June 17, 1802, 
in which he mentions his wife Sarah, and his children Ben- 
jamin, Jacob and Catharine. 

The family, once an important one in the county, is now 
nearly, if not quite, extinct, and it is impossible to obtain a 
connected genealogy. 

There was a Rev. Jacob, a minister of the Ref. Dutch 
Church in N. and S. Hampton, Penn., from 1797 to 1819, 
who was probably connected with the Staten Island family. 



400 ATTN"ALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

LATOURETTE. 

The original Latourette was a French Huguenot, but when 
he came to America is unknown. The family is not among 
the earliest settlers on Staten Island. The first mention of 
the name we have found is as follows : 

Jean and Maria Mersereau had the following children : 
A son David, bap. Apr. 24, 1726, David Latourette spon- 
sor. 

A son Anthony, Jan. 24, 1730. 
A son Henry, Jan. 24, 1731. 
Pierre La Turrete and Mariamne Mersereaux had 
A son Daniel, bap. Mar. 3, 1728. 
Twin sons David and Jacques, Oct. 31, 1730. 
David and Catharine Poillon, son Jaques, bap. Mar. 19, 
1732. 

James, probably one of the Jaques mentioned above, and 
Elizabeth his wife, had a son John born Dec. 11, 1764. v 
A son Jonathan, born Jan. 31, 1766, and 
A son Henry, born Apr. 22, 1775. 
David and Elizabeth his wife had a daughter Catharine, 
born Nov. 9, 1766. 

John and Susannah his wife had a son John, born Sep. 30, 
1764. 

James and Mary his wife had a son David, born July 7, 
1786. 

David and Phebe Cole married Nov. 12, 1808. 
Henry of Fresh Kills, weaver, made his will. Jan 19, 1794, 
proved Dec. 30, 1794, in which he speaks of his wife Sarah, 
his brother Henry, dec'd, his sons Henry, John and Peter, 
and his daughters Susan, wife of Peter Cole, and Ann, wife 
of William de Groot. 
Peter' s wife was Elizabeth Androvette. 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 401 

L1SK. 

This family was never very numerous on the Island, and 
we find little mention of it in any records. 

James, the earliest mentioned, had a son John bap. Mar. 
25, 1701. He is also mentioned as having bought land in 
1706 ; he had a son Thomas, who married Catalyntje Van 
Pelt, and had daughters baptized in 1729, 1731, 1739 and 1745 ; 
John, son of James, married Rachel Haughwout, and had a 
son Jacob bap. Jan. 2, 1728. 

Matthias and Anastasia had a son Moses born Dec. 7, 1766. 

John and Mary had a son Thomas born Sep. 19, 1756 ; he 
made his will Aug. 24, 1793, proved Nov. 4, 1793, in which 
he mentions his children Thomas, Franky and Catharine. 

There is an Alexander Lisk mentioned in the Court Records 
in 1724. 



LOCKMAK 

LOOKERMAN, LAKEMAN, LACKMAN, liOCKERMAN, &C. 

This is one of the oldest of the Dutch families in the prov- 
ince. The first mention of the name is that of G-overt Lock- 
ermans, (sometimes spelled Lookermans), who arrived in 
America in 1633, in the carvel St. Marty n. He was a minor 
when he arrived, and came as an apprentice, but was imme- 
diately taken into the service of the Company. He soon con- 
trived to make himself conspicuous, especially in leading 
attacks upon the Indians, on Staten Island and elsewhere. 

The earliest mention of the name in the records, occurs in 



402 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

1680, when Abraham Lakeman* is said to have owned a par- 
cel of woodland on the south of the Fresh-kill. About this 
time there were several of the name on the Island — Abraham, 
mentioned above, whose name is found again on the records, 
in 1684 and 1692 ; Lewis, who was defendant in a suit July 
6, 1681 ; and Peter, who sold land in 1684. These three prob- 
ably were brothers. There was an Isaac, perhaps a son of 
one of the above, of whom we only know that his wife was 
Catharine Christopher, and that they had a son Lewis, bap. 
May 23, 1731. 

Abraham, and Elizabeth his wife, had two daughters born 
— Sarah, in 1762, and Margaret in 1767, and a son Abraham, 
born Apr. 4, 1772. 

Isaac, and his wife Martha, had the following sons : 

David, born Jan. 26, 1768 ; Jacob, born July 21, 1771, and 
Joseph, born Oct. 7, 1775. 

William and Mary his wife had a daughter Sarah, born 
Oct. 4, 1772. 

Isaac and Margaret his wife had a son William, born 
Nov. 24, 1772. 

There was another Isaac, born 1758, and died May 1, 1814. 

Samuel and Catharine Crowal, were married Mar. 16, 1790. 

Nathaniel made his will Dec. 12, 1795, proved May 24, 1803, 
in which he mentions his wife Martha, his daughter Susanna, 
and his sons Isaac and John. 

This family is also gradually dying out. 

* Vide App N. (70.) 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 403 

MANEE. 

Originally written Manez. This is a Westfield family con- 
cerning which the notices, in either county or church records, 
are exceedingly meagre. We have found but few shreds of its 
history. 

Peter, and Mary Brooks his wife, had a daughter baptized 
August 8, 1725. 

Abraham and Anna Jansen, his wife, had a son Abraham, 
baptized May 26, 1723. 

Abraham and Sarah du Chesne, had a daughter Sarah, bap- 
tized March 30, 1740. 

Abraham had a son Isaac, baptized May 15, 1790. 
Peter and Mary Pryor were married Jan. 4, 1804. 

William and Eliza Pryor were married April , 1808. 

Abraham and Mary Woglom were married Oct. 8, 1808. 

Isaac made his will May 14, 1794, proved July 18, 1794, in 

which he speaks of his brothers Abraham and Peter, and 

sister Hannah Prior. His will is dated on the day of his 

death, at which time he was 46 years old. 



MARTLING. 

This name is not met with at a very early date ; when its 
connection with the Island began, is unknown ; the earliest 
mention of the family in our local records, is in 1724, when 
Isaac Martling and Anna Van Name his wife, had a daughter 
bap. Jan. 10 ; a son John, Jan. 21, 1731, a Bareut Martling 
being present as a sponsor. He died in infancy. 



404 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

Peter and Jannetje (Jane) Heereman had a son John, bap. 
Apr. 26, 1748. 

Barent and Susanna Gerretson had a son Barent bap. Sep. 
19, 1749, and Barent, Sen., was sponsor. There were three 
generations present on this occasion, represented by three 
Barent Martlings. 

Peter (same as above) had a son Benjamin, bap. Sept. 17, 
1752, and another son Johannes or John Oct. 11, 1743. 

Barent, son of Barent above named, married Nannie Tuson 
(Tyson), and had a son Barent, born Jan. 10, 1776. 

Johannes or John, son of Peter, was the grandfather of 
Mr. Peter L. Martling, now (1876) residing near the Four Cor- 
ners ; he made his will Dec. 15, 1798, which was proved Jan. 
8, 1802 ; he speaks of six daughters and two sons, viz.: Annatje 
(Anna), Elizabeth, Catharine (married William Johnson, died 
Nov. 19, 1852, in her 72d year), Gritty (Gertrude), married 
first David Laforge, second John Laforge, Jane, Catharine, 
and Clarissa (died unmarried Aug. 15, 1872, aged 81 years), 
and Garret and John. The former owned the property now 
belonging to A. C. Bradley, Esq. ; the latter owned the farm 
now occupied by his son Peter L. ; he married Dorcas Laforge 
Jan. 3, 1802. 

Benjamin and Aala (Alida) Cozine were married June 13, 
1795. 



MARTINO. 

Gaston Martineau, a surgeon of Dieppe, settled in England 
in 1685, and was a French refugee. He had several sons, 
whose descendants still reside in England, and many of them 



ANTSTALS OF STATEN" ISLAND. 405 

are distinguished. The family in America is a collateral 
branch, and were in this country and on the Island before 
Gfaston left France. We find the name of Francis in our 
county records as defendant in a suit with Jaques Jeyoung 
in 1681, and as selling land in 1691. 

Stephen was born 1727, and died May 9, 1801 ; he owned 
and resided on the property now known as the Poor House 
Farm. He was one of the corporators of the Moravian 
Church. 

Benjamin, brother of Stephen, was born 1742, and died 
May 17, 1824. 

Benjamin, son of above was born Apr. 4, 1766, and died 
Nov. 20, 1814. He was father of Mr. Gfabriel Martino, re- 
siding near Four Corners, Castleton. 

Stephen was father of Mr. Gabriel Martino, residing be- 
tween Graniteville and Bull's Head. 



MERRILL. 

This family have descended from Richard Merrill and 
Sarah Wells his wife, natives of Warwickshire, England, 
who emigrated to America about the year 1675, and settled on 
Staten Island. As their family was the only one of the name 
on the Island, they had among their children the following 
sons : William, Richard, Thomas, Philip and Philys, unless 
the two last names are identical, and perhaps John, for we 
find in the Albany records the name of William as owning 
land on Staten Island in 1683 ; Philys bought land of Rich- 
ard (father or brother ?) in 1711 . 



406 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

Richard married Elsie Dorlant, and had the following 
children : 

Richard, bap. Sep. 22, 1709, who died young. 
Elsie, bap. Apr. 1, 1708, by Dom. Freeman. 
Richard, bap. 1715. 
Lambert, bap. Jan. 1, 1721. 
Susanna, bap. Sep. 13, 1724. 
Philip and Elizabeth Bakker, (Baker) his wife, had the 
following children : 

Catherine and Susanna, twins, bap. July 4, 1725. 
Philip, bap. Feb. 24, 1727. 
Nicholas, bap. Nov. 24, 1728. 
Elisabet, bap. Apr. 8, 1733. 
Neeltje (Cornelia) bap. Mar. 9, 1735. 
Thomas and Jenne Grewan had a son Richard — no date of 
baptism. 

John and Gertrude Simonson had a daughter, bap. Sep. 18, 
1726. 

William ; of his descendants we have no account. 
The above are the children and grand-children of the orig- 
inal pair, so far as the church records throw any light upon 
the matter. 

Richard, son of Thomas, had the following children : 
Margaretta, bap. Jan. 1, 1738. 

Annatje, (Anna) bap. Apr. 19, 1743 ; no others mentioned. 
Jan and Aeltje (Alida) Bennet had a son Simon, and a 
daughter bap. on the same day, May 6, 1745. 

Thomas and Eva Jones had a daughter bap. Oct. 31, 1756. 
This Thomas made his will Dec. 31, 1791, proved Apr. 30, 
1803, in which he mentions his wife Eva and his sons John, 
Thomas and Matthew. 

John, son of Thomas and Eva (known in the family as Hon- . 
nis) was born 1742, and died Dec. 19, 1826. His wife's name 
was Charity. 

Thomas (known as " Sawmill Thomas,") son of John and 
Eva, had a son John, bap. Aug. 17, 1788. 
There was a John, Jun., who had a daughter bap. Nov. 7, 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 407 

1790, and John Y., who was born in 1770, and died June 6, 
1858, but they are probably distinct persons; John, Jun., 
more probably was the son of Joseph and Martha, and was 
born Apr. 4, 1765. 

Joseph also had a daughter Mary, born Jan. 16, 1763. 

John and Ann his wife had a daughter bap. Nov. 7, 1753. 

Lambert, (son of Richard and Elsie), and Tabitha, had a 
son Richard, born July 9, 1765 ; a son Jonathan born May 24, 
1774 ; a daughter Tabitha, born Feb. 18, 1770, who married 
Capt. John W. Blake, and died Jan. 12, 1861, aged nearly 
91 years ; also a daughter Elsie, born 1768, married John 
Hillyer 1785, and was the mother of Hon. Lawrence Hillyer, 
dec, and Hon. John B. Hillyer, still living (1876) at New 
Springville. 

William and Ann Merrill were married Aug. — , 1776. 

Abraham and Ann Merrill were married Oct. 3d, 1790. 

Mary, widow of Merrill, made her will Jan. 10, 

1789, proved Nov. 30, 1789 ; reference has been made to this 
will before, and the bequest made to her daughter Mary, the 
wife of Nathaniel Robbins. 

The family was once numerous, and have largely intermar- 
ried with other families of the Island. The property belong- 
ing to them in Northfield was extensive, and a part of it is 
still in the possession of some of them. 

The public road known as Lambert's Lane, leading to 
Watchogue, was named from Lambert Merrill, mentioned 
above. 



408 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 



MERSEREAU. 

[From Family Eecords and Traditions.] 

John Mersereau was a native of France, and a Protestant. 
In his youth he was possessed of extraordinary physical 
strength. He studied law, but disliking the confinement of 
study, he learned the trade of a saddler, which he subse- 
quently carried on extensively. He was also captain of a 
military company, armed with pikes, the members of which 
attained great skill in the use of that weapon. When he went 
abroad, he always wore a sword at his side. One evening he 
met three men habited as friars, whom he saluted, saying 
"Good evening, gentlemen." They immediately charged 
him with being a Protestant — otherwise he would have said 
"Gfood evening, fathers." He replied, "I know but one 
Father, who is in Heaven." They then drew their sabres, 
which were concealed under their cloaks, and attacked him, 
and he was obliged to defend himself ; the result was, he 
killed one, wounded another, and the third fled. For some 
unexplained reason, he was never molested for this deed. He 
died young, and left three sons — Joshua, Paul and Daniel — 
and two daughters, Mary and Martha. These children, with 
their mother, fled from France to England 1685, immediately 
after the Revocation ; but James II, having just ascended 
the throne, and being a Roman Catholic, they feared further 
persecution, and all, with the exception of Paul, who re- 
mained and followed his father's business, continued their 
flight to America. They had intended to settle at Philadel- 
phia, but they were driven to New York by stress of weather. 
They settled on Staten Island, where their mother died, and 
was buried in the French church- yard (on the Seaman farm, 
Westfield). 

Daniel was a tailor ; Joshua married a Latourette, and 
died May 23, 1756, aged over 93 years. They had a son 
Joshua, who was born May 18, 1696, and died July 9, 1769 ; 
his wife was Maria Corsen (sometimes written Mary), daugh- 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 409 

ter of Jacob Corsen ; she was born Oct. 24, 1704, and died 
July 3, 1763. Their children were : 

* Joshua, born Sep. 26, 1728, died June 10, 1804. 

f Jacob, born Apr. 23, 1730, died Sep. 7, 1804. 

John, born Mar. 2, 1732, died . 

Elizabeth, born Jan. 4, 1734, died in infancy. 

David, born Nov. 10, 1735, died July 19, 1763. 

Mary, born Jan. 14, 1738, died . 

Cornelius, born July 27, 1739, died July 27, 1814. 

Paul, born Feb. 23, 1741, died Jan. 26, 1823. 

Elizabeth, born Nov. 26, 1742, died . 

Rachel, born Feb-. 27, 1746, died July 9, 1769. 
Paul, son of Joshua and Maria Corsen, married Elizabeth 
Barnes, born Apr. 21, 1751, died May 26, 1833, their children 
were : 

Joshua, born Feb. 7, 1773, died Mar. 7, 1847. 

Nancy, born Apr. 4, 1775, died Nov. 30, 1851. 

Mary, born Feb. 2, 1777, died June 6, 1858. 

Elizabeth, born June 20, 1779, died May 8, 1855. 

Rachel, born June 30, 1781, died Feb. 23, 1863. 

JPaul, born Mar. 14, 1784, died July 21, 1856. 

Margaret, born Mar. 27, 1787. 

Gertrude, born Nov. 30, 1789. 
Joshua, son of Paul and Elizabeth, married Deborah Brit- 

* He was repeatedly Member of Assembly between 1777 and 1786. 

f Jacob made liis will July 16, 1804, proved Sept. 18, 1804, in whicli he speaks 
of bis wife Charity, and his children John, and Mary, wife of Thomas Cubberly ; 
Elizabeth, wife of Daniel De Hart ; Sophia, wife of John Crocheron ; Jacob, Da- 
vid, and Peter. He was the Col. Jacob Mersereau, whose escape from the British 
during the Revolution is alluded to elsewhere. His son Jacob was the father of 
John T. and Alfred Mersereau, of Graniteville, and Member of Assembly 1832 
and 1833. His son Peter, still living on the old homestead, born in 1788, was 
Member of Assembly 1845. Col. Jacob had also a son John by his first marriage, 
who married a Cruser, and lived in an old stone house, on the tarn of the road 
west of the Snug Harbor, and was father-in-law to the late Judge Abraham 
Crocheron. 

X Paul was Member of Assembly 1834, and for several years subsequently a 
Judge of the Court of Common Pleas. 



410 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

ton, Jan. 7, 1801. She was born Ang. 4, 1782, and died 
Mar. 26, 1840 ; their children were : 

Nathaniel, born Oct. 18, 1802, died in infancy, 
Panl, born Sept. 20, 1804. 
Mary, born Jan. 29, 1807. 

twins, born Jan. 19, 1810. 

Cornelius, born May 12, 1811. 
* Joshua, born Jan. 28, 1814. 
Elsey, born Aug. 30, 1817, dec'd. 
Elizabeth, born May, 5, 1820, dec'd. 
Debora, born Apr. 7, 1823. 
John, born May 28, 1826, died in infancy. 
Margaret. 
Thus far we have traced but one branch of the family ; 
what notices we have found in the public records, of other 
branches, we give indiscriminately. 

There was a John mentioned in the County records in 1730 ; 
he was probably the same with Jean, whose wife's name was 
Craage ; they had a son Joshua baptised Feb., 1731, and sub- 
sequently a son Daniel. This Daniel married Cornelia Van- 
derbilt, and had a son John, baptized Mar. 4, 1759. 

Etienne (Stephen) and Ann Mitchell had a son Daniel 
baptized, no date ; a daughter Jan. 1, 1735, and a son Rich- 
ard, May, 1740. 

There was a Joshua had a son Harmanus baptized June 8, 
1788. 

There was a Paul here as early as 1728, sponsor at a 
baptism. 
Peter and Rebecca his wife had the following children : 
Sarah, born Mar. 23, 1769. 
Daniel, born Aug. 27, 1771, died July 16, 1855. 
John, bap. Nov., 1775. 
Peter died June 16, 1803, born 1734. See Note. 
There was a John born Dec, 1737, died July 30, 1811. 
John and Charity had a son John born Apr. 13, 1757 ; son 
Lawrence Mar. 28, 1761. 

* Joslma was Member of Assembly 1857, and County Clerk from 1843 to 1852. 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 411 

Paul and Frances had a son John born May 2, 1759. 

Stephen and Lydia had the following children : 
Sarah, born Sep. 8. 1766. 
Daniel, born Dec. 6, 1768. 
Stephen, born Feb. 14, 1774. 

Joshua and Mary had the following children : 
Stephen, born May 5, 1770. 
Joshua, bap. Sept. 6, 1772. 

Daniel and Susan had a daughter Ann bap. July 6, 1789. 

Daniel and Ann had a daughter Cornelia bap. June 26, 
1791. 

Henry and Eliza Laforge married Sept. 6, 1790. 

Jacob and Mary Crocheron married Sept. 5, 1798. 

Daniel and Alida Lake married Oct. 6, 1798. 

Daniel and Eliza Winant married Feb. 8, 1800. 

Stephen and Lanah (Helen) Winant married Nov. 21, 1802. 

John and Ann Parlee married Dec. 31, 1803. 

Joshua and Susannah Story married Dec. 10, 1805. 

There were others of this name who emigrated from Hol- 
land, but where they settled is not known. Dunlap says, 
" The Huguenots who lied to Holland after the bloody and 
complicated treachery and murder performed by the papists 
under Charles IX, had remained among their Dutch brethren 
until many of their descendants had become, in language 
and manners, assimilated to the Hollanders, and emigrated 
to this country more Dutch than French ; such as the Dur- 
yeas, Cortelyous, Mersereaus, and many others." 

Note. — Peter Mersereau made his will May 6, lb00, proved 
July 25, 1803, in which he alludes to his wife without naming 
her, and mentions his children Elizabeth, Rebecca, Catharine, 
Ann, Sarah, Daniel and William. 

There is another branch of the family, not located on Staten 
Island, of which Capt. Lawrence Mersereau, who was born 
Jan. 4, 1773, and died at Union, Broome County, N. Y., 
January 24, 1873. At the age of 25 he married Hannah 
Christopher, and had the following children : Hester, Maria, 
Joshua, Clarissa, George W. Lawrence, Mary, William, 



412 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND, 

Hannah and John C. Capt. Lawrence's father's name was 
Joshua. 



METCALFE. 

Though not among the old, this family is among the most 
prominent ones of the county. Simon, the progenitor of the 
family on Staten Island, came from England in 1765, and 
settled in New York city, and was subsequently appointed 
deputy surveyor of the colony. He left his son Gfeorge in 
England to be educated until he was seventeen years of age, 
when he joined his father in this country. After studying 
law, he resided at Albany for a time, then went to Johnstown, 
Fulton county, N. Y. He married the daughter of Commo- 
dore Silas Talbot. In 1796 Gov. John Jay appointed him 
Assistant Attorney-General, which office he held until 1811. 
He then removed to New York, where he practiced law until 
1816, when he removed to Staten Island, and in 1818, when 
the office of District Attorney was made a county office, he 
was appointed to perform its duties. He died in 1826. His 
children were Maria, who married William S. Root, of Tomp- 
kinsville ; Silas Talbot ; Simon ; Catharine, who was the first 
wife of John B. Simonson ; Henry Bleecker ; Georgiana, who 
married Daniel Fenn, of Massachusetts ; Louisa, twins, and 
George. 

Henry Bleecker was born January 20th, 1805, studied law 
with his father, and admitted to the bar in 1826. The same 
year he was appointed District Attorney for Richmond 
county, which office he held until 1833. In 1840 he was ap- 



ANNALS OE STATEN ISLAND. 413 

pointed a County Judge, and the same year U. S. Boarding 
Officer at Quarantine, in the Revenue Department, .which 
place he occupied until 1843. In 1847 he was elected County 
Judge and Surrogate, the two officers having been united, 
and re-elected from time to time until near the close of 1875, 
at the end of which year he would have been legally disqual- 
ified by age, but he resigned to take his seat as Member of 
Congress, to which he had been elected, and he is now, 1876, 
performing the duties of that office as Representative of the 
1st Congressional District of the State of New York, in the 
1st Session of the 44th Congress. 



MORGAN. 

This family was on Staten Island at an early date, but the 
notices of them in the records are very few. Thomas Morgan 
was a member of the Colonial Assembly from this county in 
1692, &c. This is the first occurrence of the name in the 
county records. His name occurs again in the Dutch Church 
records as having a son Abraham, baptized May 5, 1696, and 
a daughter Martha, September 7, 1698. 

Thomas, (probably a son of the former,) and Magdalena 
Staats his wife, had the following children : 

A daughter Elisabet, baptized Feb. 7, 1725. 

A daughter Magdalena, bap. Feb. 12, 1727. 

A son Pieter, bap. March 9, 1729. 

A son Thomas, bap. Oct. 10, 1731, and 

A daughter Sarah, bap. Sept. 16, 1739. 
The name does not again appear until 1754, December 16, 
wheD William Morgan and Elizabeth Winter were married. 



414 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

It is probable that William was the son of Pieter mentioned 
above, though not certain. William had a son John, who 
lived and died in the vicinity of New Springville. Among 
his children was a son Charles who married a Vroom, and 
they were the parents of Mr. Henry C, of Travisville, and 
his brother, the late John, of Mariner' s Harbor. 



PERINE. . 

The original orthography of the name was Perrin. Count 
Perrin was a Huguenot refugee from Nouere ; the American 
family are not descended from him, but the original emigrant 
was akin to him. The first occurrence of the name in this 
county was in 1687, where Daniel Perine sold land, and he 
was probably the progenitor of the Perines of the present 
day. Like many other old families in the county, they have 
a family record, but very imperfect, except perhaps for the 
last two or three generations. The branch which we are able 
to trace, lived for a century and a half, or more, in the same 
house, which is still standing, and occupied by them, on the 
Richmond road, a short distance north of Garrison's Station, 
on the Staten Island Railroad. It is probably the oldest 
dwelling house in the county occupied by the family who 
built it. 

Cornelius S. and Joseph E., still residing in the old house, 
are the sons of Simon S., who was the son of 

Joseph, born June 4, 1759, died April 16th, 1814. Joseph's 
brothers were Edward, born July 6, 1766, and Henry, born 
Nov. 29, 1768, and married Mary Winant June 21, 1795 ; 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 415 

they were the parents of Mrs. Elizabeth, relict of the late 
Richard Tysen, Esq. 

Joseph's parents were Edward and Ann ; Edward died 
during the Revolution. 

We are unable to trace the pedigree of any branch of the 
family beyond Edward, with any degree of certainty. Prob- 
ably Edward was the son, possibly the grandson, of Daniel, 
whom we suppose to be the original. 

In addition to the above, the following are found on the 
county and church records, on tomb-stones, etc. 

Henry and Susannah his wife had a son Edward, born Feb. 
19, 1758 ; a son Peter, born May 22d, 1764 ; Henry made his 
will Apr. 10, 1788, which was proved June 7, 1788, in which 
he mentions his wife Susannah and his children David and 
Cornelius, then minors, and his other children, Edward, 
Margaret, and Susannah, Abraham, Henry, Nancy and Mary. 
This younger Henry was a weaver, and made his will Oct. 29, 
1792, which was proved April 2, 1793, in which he speaks, of 
his brothers David, Cornelius and Edward, but alludes to no 
wife nor children. 

Henry and Ann his wife had a son Abraham, born Feb. 1, 
1766. 

Henry and Hannah his wife had a son Henry, born June 5, 
1767. 

James and Nannie his wife had a daughter Sopbia, born 
July 17, 1767. 

William and Miranda his wife had a son Peter, baptized 
June 27, 1790. 

Edward and Patience Mersereau were married June 7, 1790, 
and had a daughter Mary, born Oct. 9, 1790. 

Abraham and Sarah Rezeau were married Aug. 24, 1790, 
and had a son Peter Rezeau, born Sep. 20, 1791. 

Peter and Mary Bedell were married Dec. 31, 1788. 

Edward and Adriar Ghiyon were married Jan. 20, 1791. 

Henry and Magdalena Simonson were married June, 19, 
1800. 

Cornelius and Mary McLean were married Mar. 31, 1804. 



416 ARTIST ALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

Edward, born in 1745, died Nov. 22, 1818. 
James Gk, born Aug. 29, 1796, died Sep. 17, 1833. 
There was a Peter, living in 1766, and a Henry in 1767, who 
were interested in the purchase or sale of land. 



POILLON. 

The first mention of the name we have found, was in con- 
nection with Staten Island, when Jaques Poullian was ap- 
pointed a Justice for Richmond County, Dec. 14, 1689, by 
Leisler. The family was never numerous, and the notices of 
them in the local records are few. 

Jaques is frequently mentioned as buying or selling land 
prior to 1703. After him we have no notice of any member 
of the family for half a century ; then John, and Margaret 
his wife, had a son John, born June 6, 1753. 
A son Peter, born Jan. 27, 1763, and 
A son James, bap. Nov. 3, 1772. 

James and Frances his wife had a son J ohn bap. Nov. 14, 
1762. 

Peter and Margaret his wife had a son John, born Oct. 
28, 1770. 

A son Peter, born Mar. 6, 1772 ; this Peter was a com- 
municant in St. Andrew's Church, 1792, after his father's 
death. (See history of that church.) 

Abraham and Susan Cole married June 17, 1790 ; he died 
young. 

John and Elizabeth Seguine married July 5, 1792. 

Abraham made his will July 20, 1791, proved Aug. 8, 



ANJSTALS OF STATED ISLAND. 417 

1791, in which he mentions his wife Susan and his son Peter, 
a minor. 

John, named above, made his will Mar. 16, 1802, proved 
Feb. 18, 1803 ; mentions his wife Margaret, his daughters 
Mary, Margaret, Ann, Sarah and Catharine, and his sons 
Peter, John and James, deceased. 



POST. 



Adrian Post, who was, without doubt, the progenitor of 
the family on Staten Island, was commander of a ship which 
brought emigrants to the colony before 1650. He was subse- 
quently the superintendent of Baron Van de Cappelan's 
plantation on the Island. The Indian massacre of 1655 drove 
him temporarily from the Island, but he soon returned, and 
resumed his residence here. His family consisted of his wife, 
five children and two servants. John, who was probably a 
grandson of Adrian, married Anna Housman, and they had 
the following sons baptized : 

Abraham, April 19, 1743, and 
Adrian, April 26, 1748. 
Garret and Sarah Ellis had the following sons baptized : 
Garret, August 7, 1754. 
Abraham, March 12, 1758. 
Abraham had a daughter Miriam, born July 31, 1790. 
There was another Garret born 1720, and died March 31, 
1797. 

The notices of this family are very meagre. 



418 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

PRALL. 

The present representatives of the family are : 

Hon. Benjamin P. Prall, of Huguenot, Westfield, and his 
brother Capt. Arthur Prall, of New Springville, Northfield. 

Their father was Peter Prall, born 1763, and died Nov. 1, 
1822 ; his father was Benjamin Prall, born 1733, and died 
1796 ; his father was Abraham Prall, born 1706"and died 
Sep. 28, 1775 ; his father was Peter Prall, whose name we find 
recorded as a witness or sponsor at a baptism in 1708 ; he had 
an older son than Abraham, viz. : Arent born 1698, and a 
younger Isaac born 1710. 

This brings us very near, or quite to the original of the 
family. There was, however, an Arent Prall, who probably 
was either father or brother of the last mentioned Peter. 
We find his — Arent' s— name on record as owning 120 acres of 
land on Long Neck in 1694. 

Other members of the family, not in the above line, were 
Peter, born Apr. 9, 1737, and died Feb. 28, 1822 ; his brother 
Abraham, born 1740, died May 6, 1820 ; he had two sons, viz. 
Daniel, drowned Oct. 10, 1817, and Ichabod, a merchant in 
New York ; Daniel married Ann Mersereau Jan. 22, 1794. 

Scattered through various records, we find the following, 
whom we are unable to place, viz. : 

Aron, Jun., and his wife Antye Staats, had a daughter born 
May 21, 1715 ; a son Aron in 1717 ; a daughter in 1719, and a 
son Peter in 1724. 

Aron, or Arent, (not Jun.) and his wife Maritje Bowman 
had a son William Joris, born 1730, and a son Hendrick, 
born 1735. 

Isaac (probably the son of Abraham, above mentioned) and 
his wife Maria Debaa or Dubois, had a daughter born 1746, 
and another in 1748 ; a son Peter in 1744, and a son Lewis in 
1751. 

Benjamin and his wife Sarah Swaim had a son Abraham 
born in 1752, and a son John in 1766. 

John (wife's name not given) had a daughter born in 1719. 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 419 

Abraham and Sarah Cannon were married Aug. — , 1776. 

John and Martha Latonrette were married Jan. 14, 1802. 

There was a Wolf ord Pranle, who was a freeholder as early 
as 1695, but he was not probably connected with this family, 
as his name wag spelled differently, and there is no further 
notice of him. 



RYERSS. 

We find this name at an early date on Long Island. Arie 
Ryerse and Maerte Ryerse were assessed as owners of prop- 
erty at Middelwout, now Flatbush, in 1676, but when their 
connection with Staten Island began is unknown. 

Adrian was born 1715, and died December 12, 1779 ; his 
wife was Hester Debaa (Dubois ;) their son Lewis was born 
December 7, 1754, and died April 13, 1806. 

Aris, another son of Adrian, had a daughter baptized July 
27, 1786, and a son David, baptized October 17, 1790. 

Gfozen, also a son of Adrian, made his will October 21, 1800, 
proved January 13, 1802, in which he speaks of his son John 
P., and his daughter Margaret, his brother Lewis, and his 
grandsons Gozen Adrian Ryers, and Ryerss De Hart. 

He was an exceedingly obese man, and required two ordin- 
ary chairs to sit upon ; his wife was in the same condition . 
He was a wealthy man, and owned property in various parts 
of the county. In 1791 he became the owner of 300 acres of 
land, in the eastern part of the State, which, when the line 
between New York and Massachusetts was finally determined, 
fell within the latter State. To compensate him for the loss 
of this land, the State of New York gave him a patent for 
1800 acres in Wilmington Township, Essex County, which is 



420 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

known as Ryerss' grant to this day. He dwelt for many 
years preceding his death at Port Richmond, in the large 
house known as the Continental Hotel. He was a very prom- 
inent and usefnl man ; he was supervisor of Northfield from 
1785 to 1787 ; a member of the Constitutional Convention in 
1788 ; he was Member of Assembly from 1791 to 1794, and 
first Judge of the County from 1797 to his death. His 
brother Lewis was sheriff in 1788 -'90, and Member of Assem- 
bly from 1795 to 1797. His son John P. was a Member of 
Assembly 1800. 

Probably the only remaining member of the family on the 
Island is Mr. David R. Ryerss, living near the Moravian 
Church. 



SEGHDINE. 

We have been unsuccessful in our efforts to obtain reliable 
information with regard to the origin of this family, and are 
obliged to be content with such as can be found in the local 
records, the earliest of which is — 

Jean and Elizabeth Hooper, had a son Jonas, bap. Dec. 12, 
1725. 

Jaques and Lady Mambrut, daughter Sara, bap. Mar. 3, 
1728. 

A son Jean, bap. Mar. 19, 1732. 

Jean and Jaques stood sponsors for each other's children ; 
they were probably brothers. The above are from the records 
of the Dutch Church ; the following are from those of St. 
Andrews : 

James and Elsee, daughter Sara, born Apr., 1756. 
Son James, born Dec. 10, 1760. 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 421 

John and Sarah had the following children : 

Elisha, born May 31, 1760. 

James bap. July 18, 1762. 

Henry, born Feb. 4, 1764. 
Lawrence and Ann, daughter Sara, born Apr. 2, 1761. 
James and Caty, son Stephen, born Mar. 22, 1764. 

Son James, born Apr. 5, 1766. 
James made his will June 13, 1795, proved Oct. 7, 1795; 
mentions his wife Catharine and his children Barnt, Joseph, 
Frederick, John, Henry, Stephen and James. 
John and Rachel Mitchel married Nov. — , 1775. 
John and Margaretta, son John, bap. Oct. 24, 1790. 

Son Henry, bap. Oct. 27, 1793. 
James and Mary Gluyon married June 30, 1791. 
Stephen and Susanna Poillon married Nov. 8, 1792. 
Henry and Jane G-arretson married Aug. 13, 1800. 
Stephen and Margaret G-uyon married Mar. 5, 1805. 



SHARROTT. 

This is another example of the change of a French name 
into English. 

Richard Sharet, the first of the name on Staten Island, 
according to the family traditions and records, was a French- 
man by birth, of Huguenot parentage, and for a short period 
after his emigration resided in New England. He came to 
Staten Island either just before, or just after, the commence- 
ment of the Revolution. Here he married a woman of 
German parentage named Mary Heger. Their children were 
William, Richard, John, James, Susan and Mary. 

John married Mary Ann Burbank, October 9th, 1789 ; 



422 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

their children were Peter, (died Feb., 1875, aged 86,) John, 
Jeremiah, Richard, Abraham, William Henry, Mary, Snsan, 
Catharine, Eliza, Louisa — some of whom are still living. 



SIMONSON. 

This name was found in the province as early as 1631. 
Willem came over in the "Fox" in 1662, and was probably the 
first of the name on Staten Island. The family has become 
so numerous during the past two centuries that it is impossi- 
ble at this day to ascertain whether the several branches are 
of kin or not. The branch descended from Barnt appears to 
have been the most prolific. 

Barnt and Apollonia Messeker had a daughter bap. in 1701 ; 
a son John in 1702, and a son Aart in 1710. 

Aert (Arthur) and Margaret Daniels had the following 
children : 

Simon, bap. Apr. 20, 1708. 

Hans, (John) bap. , 1710. 

Aert, bap. Oct. 11, 1711, died in infancy. 

Aert, bap. July 14, 1713. 

Christopher, bap. June 18, 1714. 

Daniel, bap. July 26, 1724. 

Barnt, bap. July 14, 1728. 

* Simon (above) and Sarah Van Pelt had the following- 
children : 

Van Pelt, bap. Mar. 13, 1742. 
Aert, bap. May 21, 1744. 
John, bap. May 2, 1754. 
Evert, bap. Dec. 18, 1755. 

* These were probably members of another branch of the original family , 
descended from Aert or Arthur. 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 423 

Hans, (above) and Antje (dim. of Ann) Yan Pelt, daughter 
bap. June 7, 1748. 

Christofel, (Christopher above,) and Maria Van Shurze had 
a son Christofel, bap. Apr. 19, 1743. 

Hans, (above) was probably the husband of Suster Corsen ; 
he was a constable in 1770. 

Daniel and Maria Decker had a son Abraham, bap. Feb. 
26, 1758 ; a daughter in 1752, and another daughter in 1754. 

Isaac and Neeltje (Cornelia) Coteleau, had a son Isaac, bap. 
Dec. 17, 1732 ; this Isaac was the father of Joseph, who mar- 
ried Elizabeth Winant, and they were the parents of the fol- 
lowing sons: John, Jacob and David, still living at New 
Springville ; Joseph, still living at Graniteville, and Abra- 
ham, deceased, also of the wife of Hon. J ohn B. Hillyer. 

Cornelius and Elizabeth Depue, had son Barnt, bap. June 
24, 1759. 

Daniel and Molly Decker had son Abraham, bap. Feb. 26, 
1758. 

* Isaac and Antje (dim. of Ann) Vanderbilt, daughter bap. 
July 8, 1722. 

Christofel and Catarina Van Scuren, had daughter bap. 
May 6, 1743. 

Isaac had a daughter Elizabeth, bap. Aug. 30, 1789. 

Jacob and Adra Poillon were married Jan. 22, 1790 ; he 
was born in 1768, and died Oct. 27, 1844, in his 76th year ; 
she was born June 5, 1765, and died July 10, 1871, aged 106 
years, 1 mo. 5 days ; they had a daughter Elizabeth, bap. 
May 1, 1791, and a son John P., born Oct, 18, 1810, and died 
June 20, 1868 ; he lived in Heberton Street, Port Richmond. 

Barnt and Abigail Crocheron, married Mar. 8, 1755. 

Barnt and Abigail, had a son John, born July 17, 1758. 

John and Ann, daughter Frances, born Dec. 26, 1771 ; son 
John, born Dec. 6, 1773. 

Isaac and Elizabeth Wood, married July 28, 1757. 

Isaac and Elizabeth Bird married Apr. 5, 1789. 

J ohn and Alice Marshal, married Jan. 5, 1790. 

* These were also probably members of another branch of the original family, 
descended from Aert or Arthur. 



424 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

Peter and Ann Cole, married Aug. 20, 1791. 
John and Phebe Wood, married Sep. 28, 1799. 

* Arthur and Harriet Pritchard, married June 27, 1801. 

* Charles M., born 1780, died July 26, 1853 ; he lived at 
Stapleton. 

Reuben, born Jan. 1765, died Sep. 19, 1844. 

John, born Apr. 15, 1782, died Nov. 25, 1862. 

Isaac made his will June 28, 1787 ; proved July 9 } 1787 ; 
mentions his wife Helethay, and his sons Jeremiah and 
Isaac ; no other children mentioned. 

There was another Isaac, born October 2, 1761, died May 
17, 1855, in his 94th year. 



STILWELL. 

Of English origin. The family was here at an early date. 
The first mention of the name, with reference to the Island, is 
in the Albany records, where a piece of wood-land on the 
south side of Fresh Kill is mentioned as belonging to Daniel 
Stilwell in 1680. There is also mention made in our county 
records of Richard in 1689 ; of John in 1695 -'6 and 1708, and 
of Thomas in 1697 arid 1704. It would appear then that at 
the close of the 17th century there were at least four families 
of the name in the county. We subjoin the names of those 
found in the several church records. 

Elias and his wife Anne Burbank, (she was probably the 
daughter of Thomas Burbank and Maritje Martling. See 
Burbank family,) had a son Thomas baptized June 30, 1726, 
and a son Daniel baptized March 24, 1728. Thomas married 
Debora Martling, and had a son Elias baptized June 10, 1747. 

* These were also probably members of another branch of the original family, 
descended from Aert or Arthur. 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 425 

Daniel, whose wife's name was Annatje(Anna,) had a daugh- 
ter Susannah, baptized July 18th, 1762. There was another 
Daniel whose wife was Maria Poillon, wlio had a son Jaques 
baptized March 26, 1738, and a son Daniel, baptized April 4, 
1736, whose wife' s name was Ariantje, and had a son Jere- 
miah, born December 1, 1763. 

Here we abandon the attempt further to trace the gene- 
alogy, and give the remaining names which we have collected, 
leaving it to the members of the family to discover their own 
ancestors. 

Sarah Pareyn (Perine,) wife of William "o&iz^," had twins 
William and Daniel, baptized September 6, 1719.— (Posthu- 
mous.) 

Jan and Elizabeth Parein (Perine) had a son John, baptized 
November 15, 1719. 

Thomas and Sarah Van Name had a son Thomas, baptized 
December 22, 1723. 

Daniel and Catharine Larzalere had a son Richard, baptized 
November 25, 1739. 

Joachim and Anna Tenners had a son John, baptized July 
28, 1751, and a son Richard, May 23, 1759. 

Thomas and Nancy Fountain had a son Antone, baptized 
February 16, 1755. 

John and Helena Van Name had a son Elias baptized June 
24, 1752. 

Richard and Jenneke (Jane) Van Name had a son Nicho- 
las, baptized September 21, 1735. 

The above are from the records of the Dutch Church ; the 
following are from St. Andrews. 

Nicholas (son of last mentioned Richard) and his wife 
Effey (Eva) had a daughter Catharine, born November 13, 
1761. 

Jeremiah and his wife Yetty had a son Peter, born April 
30th, 1764. 

John and Oily Taylor were married September 15, 1757. 

Samuel and Hannah Van Pelt were married June 9, 1755. 

Richard and Mary his wife had a son Daniel, born Febru- 
ary 7, 1770. - 



426 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

Nicholas born Jan. , 1747 ; died April 26, 1819. 

Abraham born Mar. 1750 ; died Sep. 12, 1824. 
The Stil wells were for a long time an influential and prom- 
inent family in the county, and members of it filled many lo- 
cal offices ; (see civil and military lists,) while there are yet sev- 
eral highly respectable individuals among them ; one branch 
has physically, morally, and intellectually deteriorated. 



SPRAGUE. 

The tradition in the family is that there were three brothers, 
Joseph, Edward and John, emigrated simultaneously from 
England, but the date of that event is lost ; it must have been 
early, however, as we read of Jacob Spragg, who must have 
been a son of Joseph, as early as 1729. Of these brothers, 
Joseph took up his abode on Staten Island ; of the other 
two, one settled on Long Island, and one on Rhode Island. 
William, whose name we find in the county records in 1767, 
and Joseph in 1772, were undoubtedly grandsons of the 
original Joseph. The original Joseph had three sons — Jacob, 
John and Edward — notwithstanding, the family has not in- 
creased very rapidly, and at present number but a few 
families, mostly confined to the town of Westfield. The only 
notices of the name in the old record of St. Andrew's 
Church, are the following : 

Andrew and Catharine Fryor married June 28, 1800. 
Jacob and Margaret Wood married July 12, 1800. 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 427 

TAYLOR. 

Abraham and Harmintje Haughwout had the following 
children : 

Son Ephraim, bap. Oct. 23, 1711, died young. 
Daughter Altje, (Alida) bap. May 18, 1710, died young. 
Daughter Rachel, bap. Aug. 21, 1720. 
Daughter Altje, bap. Nov. 25, 1722. 
Son Peter, bap. July 4, 1725. 
Son Ephraim, bap. Apr. 6, 1729. 
Daughter Margaret, bap. Nov. 23, 1715. 
Ephraim married Elizabeth Morgan, Jan. 4, 1756. 
Another Ephraim, probably father of Abraham, had a son 
Jan, and a daughter Marietta, both bap. in 1696. 

The above family, though English in name, had assimilated 
with the Dutch, as is evident from the names of some of them, 
and are found in the records of the Dutch Church. The fol- 
lowing are found in the records of St. Andrew' s Church, and 
are of another family. 

Oliver, born 1687, and died Aug. 24j 1771 ; there is nothing 
to indicate that he was born on the Island, though he died 
here. 
Henry and Judith had a son John, born Sept. 20, 1770. 
Oliver and Sarah, daughter Elisabeth, born Aug. 24, 1771 . 

Henry and Lydia, son Abraham, bap. , 1775. 

John and Fanny, son Oliver, born Sept. 24, 1791. 
Benjamin and Ann Decker married Sept. 9, 1792. 
John and Sarah Yates married Jan. 7, 1804. 



TOTTEN. 
We can scarcely consider this family as among the old 



428 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

families of the Island, though the name is found in local re- 
cords for more than a century. In the records of St. An- 
drew's Church, the name occurs two or three times, until the 
organization of the Methodist church, when it becomes iden- 
tified with that church. Gilbert was one of the first, and 
leading men, connected with that society. 

The residence of the families bearing the name has been 
almost exclusively in the town of Westfield, and the thriving 
village of Tottenville in that town perpetuates their respecta- 
bility and influence. The only notices of the name in church 
records, other than those of the Methodist church, are as 
follows : 

Silas and Charity his wife, had the following sons : 
Joseph, born Aug. 10, 1765. 
Ephraim, born Feb. 24, 1768. 

Joseph and Mary Cubberly married Dec. 11, 1804. 

Though the family appear to have always maintained a 
very respectable position, they do not appear to have been 
aspirants for political distinction ; Ephraim, Gilbert and 
John, have repeatedly served their town as supervisors, and 
Ephraim J., was Member of Assembly in 1848. 



VAN BUSKIRK, VAN DUZER. 

Neither of these can be regarded as old Staten Island 
families. There was a Cornelius Van Buskirk here during 
the Revolution, but he came from Bergen. The sites of the 
Pavilion at New Brighton, and St. Peter's Church, occupy a 
part of his farm. His dwelling house stood along the Shore 
Road, at the foot of the hill upon which St. Mark's Hotel 
stands, and is alluded to elsewhere. He had a son who 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 429 

owned a farm on the road leading from Quarantine to Rich- 
mond, near the Clove road. Another son lived at West New 
Brighton, near Pine, Hillyer & Co's store, and owned the 
mill which formerly stood on the " Factory Dock ;" his wife 
was a Schermerhorn, from Schenectady. 

The Van Buskirks were among the earliest settlers on Ber- 
gen Point, and were a very respectable, though not a numer- 
ous family, on the Island. The venerable Mrs. Van Duzer, 
mother-in-law of Hon. H. B. Metcalfe, now (June, 1876,) in 
her 96th year, but since deceased, married a son of the origi- 
nal Cornelius Van Buskirk, and after his death married 
the late Daniel Van Duzer. 

The Van Duzer family originally came from Long Island, 
and settled on Staten Island near the close of the last cen- 
tury. They were never very numerous. 

Daniel Van Duzer left, at least, two sons — John H., for 
many years a baker at Tompkinsville, and Daniel C, a 
grocer at the same place, both now deceased. 



VANDERBILT. 

Jacob, the first of the name on Staten Island, was a native 
of Flatbnsh, Long Island, and was the son of Aris and Hilitje 
his wife. On the 19th of May, 1715, Aris sold a large tract 
of land at New Dorp to his son Jacob, who came to reside 
upon it. See Note, at the end of this article. 

Jacob was born Jan. 25th, 1692, and died 1759 ; his wife 
Elenor, or Neiltje, was born Feb. 10th, 1698 ; their children 
were : 

Aris, born Feb. 2, 1716. 

Denys, born Sept. 5, 1717. 

Hilitje, born Mar. 22, 1720. 



430 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

Jacob, born Jan. 6, 1723. 

Magdalena, born Dec. 1, 1725, married Cornelius Ellis. 
John, born Nov. 15, 1728. 
Cornelius, born Sept. 22, 1731. 
Anna, born Feb. 11, 1734. 
Phebe, born Apr. 27, 1737. 
Anthea, born Jan. 31, 1739. 
Elenor, born Sept. 13, 1742. 
Jacob (born Jan. 6, 1723) married Mary Sprague, who was 
born Feb. 17, 1729 ; their children were : 

E]enor, born — — — , 1747, married a Johnson. 
Jacob, born Jan. 6, 1750. 
John, born May 9, 1752. 

Dorothy, born July 29, 1754, married a Swaim. 
Oliver, born June 16, 1757. 
Joseph, born Sept. 6, 1761. 
Cornelius, born Aug. 28, 1764. 
Cornelius (born Aug. 28, 1764) married Phebe Hand, who 
was born April 15, .1767. He died May 20, 1832 ; she died 
June 22, 1854 ; their children were : 

Mary, born Dec. 21, 1787, married Chas. M. Simonson, died 
Aug. 10, 1845. 
Jacob, born Aug. 28. 1789, died Oct. 3, 1805. 
Charlotte, born Dec. 29, 1791, married Capt. John De 
Foreest, died Jan. o, 1877. 

Cornelius, born May 27, 1794 (the Commodore), died Jan. 
4, 1877. 
Phebe, born Feb. 19, 1798, died young. 
Jane, born Aug.l, 1800, married — 1st, Van Duzer ; 2d, Col. 
Saml. Barton. 
Elenor, born Jan. 4, 1804, died Apr. 21, 1833. 
Jacob Hand, born Sept. 2, 1807. 
Phebe, born Feb. 9, 1810. 
Another branch of the family is as follows : 
John, who was member of Assemby in 1829, was the son 
of Jacob, who we are unable to place. John was born Aug. 
1, 1769, and died Mar. 27, 1851 ; his sons were : John, born 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 431 

July 2, 1796, died Aug. 13, 1847 ; Oliver, Aaron, Edward, 
Cornelius, Richard, Jacob. John and Oliver were well known 
in their day as captains of steamboats, the former on the line 
between Elizabethport and New York ; the latter between 
New York and Staten Island, and other places. 

Note. — Beside the land which. Jacob bought of his father Aris, he 
purchased a parcel adjoining the above from Nathaniel Britton and 
Elizabeth his wife, on the 4th day of May, 1719, which was a part of a 
tract of 100 acres granted to Nathaniel Britton, father of the above 
named grantor, by Benjamin Fletcher, then Governor of the province, 
on the 25th day of June, 1696. 



VAN NAME. 

This is one of the old Dutch families of the county, but 
not among the oldest. The earliest mention of the name 
occurs in a church record, as follows : 

Evert and Wyntje ( Wilhelmina) Benham had a son Joseph, 
bap. Apr. 22, 1709, and a daughter Aug. 3, 171 8. 

Simon and Sarah Prall had a daughter bap. Oct. 30, 1716. 
A son Aaron, Aug. 17, 1718, and 
A son Moses, Feb. 21, 1725. 

Engelbert and Maria De Camp had a son John bap. Apr. 
12, 1719, and twin daughters Oct. 15, 1721. 

Johannes had a son Pieter, bap. May 18, 1718. 

Aaron (son of Simon, above) and Mary McLean, had the 
following children : Aaron (grandfather of Michael and 
Charles of Mariner's Harbor), Catharine, Simon, William, 
Ann, Moses and Charles. 

Aaron (last mentioned) had a son Moses, who married Mary 
Le Grange ; they had the following children, named in the 



432 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

order of their births : John, Polly, Moses, Elizabeth, Catha- 
rine, Michael, Sophia, Rachel, Cliarles and Aaron. Those 
in Italics are still living, 1877. 

There was another Moses, born Feb., 1760, died Oct. 16, 
1811 ; Simon, born Feb., 1739, died Nov. 24, 1812. 

Charles, of another branch of the family, made his will 
Apr. 8, 1805, probated May 21, 1805, in which he mentions 
his sons Anthony and Aaron, both minors. 



VAN PELT. 

We read of individuals of this name in New Utrecht, sev- 
eral years before we meet the name in connection with Staten 
Island : thus, Wouter (Walter), Anthony, and Aert Van Pelt, 
are mentioned as early as 1687, living on Long Island. The 
first Van Pelt we meet in the Staten Island records is Hen- 
drick, who had several children born between 1696 and 1701. 
He was, probably, connected with the Long Island families, 
as we find their names perpetuated on Staten Island. At, or 
about, the same time, there was a Peter Van Pelt, who had a 
son Jan baptized Oct. 21, 1707, and a son Samuel July 25, 1710. 
This John and Jannetje (Janet) Adams, his wife, had 

A daughter — , bap. March 28, 1736. 

A son William, April 13, 1742, and 

A daughter , April — , 1744. 

Jacob and Aaltje (Alida) Haughwout, his wife, had 
A son John, baptized October 15, 1727. 
A daughter Catalyntje, September 27, 1724. 
John and Susanna Latourette, his wife, had twins- 
John and Susanna, baptized May 25, 1729. 
Tunis and Maria Drageau, his wife, had the following 
children : 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 433 

Son Anthony, baptized October 9, 1729. 

Son Johannes, baptized February 14, 1731. 

Daughter Maria, baptized June 3, 1734. 

Son Joost, baptized May 19, 1737. 

Son Tunis, baptized November 19, 1738. 
Peter had a son William, baptized November 23, 1715 ; a 
son Samuel, April 16, 1717. 
Simon and Maria Adams had a 

Son Peter, baptized May 23, 1749, and a 

Daughter, April 18, 1743. 
John (Anthony's son) and Susanna Latourette, his wife, had 

A son Joost, baptized April 4, 1736, and 

A son Anthony, baptized April 30, 1733. 
This Anthony married Janneke Simonson, and had 

A daughter , baptized June 11, 1760. 

Peter and Barber Houlton had 

A daughter , baptized April 18, 1743, and 

A son David, baptized October 12, 1755. 
Jan and Maria Bouman had a daughter, baptized Septem- 
ber 14, 1742. 

Jan, Jr. andCatrina Bouman had a daughter, baptized May 
6, 1745. 
John had a daughter, baptized October 29, 1787. 
Samuel, son of Peter, mentioned above, and Maria Falken- 
burg, had 

A son Pieter, baptized July 19, 1748. 
Aart and Christina Immet, daughter Maria, baptized De- 
cember 10, 1721. 
John and Margaret, his wife, had the following children : — 

A son Tunis, born August 8, 1760. 

A son John, born February 10, 1765. 

A son James, born May 13, 1761, and 

A son Peter, born November 13, 1769. 
Peter and Phebe had a son Tunis, born June 6,1768. 
Anthony and Susanna had a daughter Susanna, born May 
10, 1766, and 

A son George, born Mar. 1, 1769. 



434 ANNALS OF STATED" ISLAND. 

Joseph and Elizabeth had son James, born Aug. 5, 1767, 
and 

A son Tunis, born Dec. 2, 1771 . 

John and Catharine Lawrence, daughter Mary, baptized 
March 8, 1772. 

Jacob and Elizabeth, daughter Mary, born March 11, 1768. 

Peter, son of John and Margaret, above, married Mary 
Colon, December 5, 1797. 

David and Hannah Wright married June 21, 1801. He 
was born February , 1779, and died March 30, 1838. 

There is a tradition that one of the earliest Van Pelt' s, 
probably Hendrick, was a man of immense size ; he was very 
tall, and proportionately bulky, and possessed of strength 
equal to that of several ordinary individuals. 

The Indians, who, notwithstanding their repeated sales of 
the Island, continued to prowl over it, pilfering from the set- 
tlers whatever they could lay their hands upon, were much 
afraid of him, and kept themselves far away from his prem- 
ises. He had a son who was a dwarf in stature, not exceed- 
ing four feet in height, who was the constant companion of 
his father ; they were, in fact, inseparable in the day time. 
When the father died, the son took to his bed, and died two 
days thereafter. 



WANDEL. 

The first of the name in our county records is John, who, 

with his wife Letitia, executed a mortgage to Groom, 

May 1, 1767, and cancelled it by payment the next year. He 
was a cordwainer by trade, and carried on the tanning busi- 
ness on Toad Hill. John and Letitia had a son Peter born 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 435 

January 10th, 1766. Peter married Sarah Van Clief, March 

, 1789, and died May 17th, 1857, over 91 years of age. 

His sons were Matthew, Daniel, John, Peter S., and Walter 
I. j the latter only still living, April, 1876. 



WIN ANT. 

This is one of the oldest families on the Island, and is so 
ramified that it is impossible to trace all its branches to their 
sources. We select that branch which is probably best 
known, and is represented by Abraham, and his brother 
Jacob Gr., both of whom have been sheriffs of the county. 
They are the sons of Hon. Bornt Parlee Winant, who is still 
living at Rossville. His parents were Abraham Winant and 
Mary Parlee, who were married August 1, 1807. The father 
of Abraham was Winant Winant, who made his will July 
5th, 1804, which was proved Aug. 11th, 1804, between which 
dates he must have died. In that instrument he mentions 
his wife Mary, and his children Abraham, John Gr., Jacob 
Gr., Mary, Frances and Ann. The father of Winant Winant 
was Abraham, who was the son of the elder Winant Winant, 
who was the son of Peter Winant, the progenitor of the 
family. The following is the inscription upon his tombstone : 

" Here lies the body of Peter Winant, born in the year 
1654, who departed this life August 6th, 1758, aged 104 years." 

He was a native of Holland, but the date of his emigration 
and settlement on the Island, which are identical, has been lost. 

As his family was the only one of the name then in the 
county, the following must have been his sons, viz.: 

Peter, who had a son Peter, baptized April 23d, 1707. 
Winant (mentioned above), whose wife was Ann Cole, who 



436 AWTJSTALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

had the following sons baptized : Peter, Mar. 27, 1720 ; Abra- 
ham, Mar. 24th, 1725 ; Jacob, Oct. 9th, 1726, and Daniel, 
Apr. 22, 1728. 

John, whose wife was Lena Bird, had a son Peter baptized 
Mar. 19, 1732 ; and 

Cornelius, whose wife was Maria Cole, had a son Cornelius 
baptized Feb. 28th, 17&8. 

The following are other members of the family, whose 
names we find in the county and church records : 

Capt. Peter, born Dec. 4, 1784 ; he was captain of the 
schooner Thames, which was wrecked on Absecom beach, 
Nov. 4, 1823, when he lost his life. 

Peter, born Oct. 5th, 1802, died Feb. 8, 1867. 

Abraham and Mary his wife had a daughter Ann, born 
Sep. 30, 1758, and a daughter Elizabeth, born Mar. 3, 1770. 

Daniel and Rachel his wife had a son Daniel, born May 10, 
1760. 

Daniel and Susannah his wife had a daughter Ann, born 
June 27, 1762. 

Daniel and Elizabeth his wife had a daughter Rachel, born 
Oct. 4, 1765. 

Peter and Christiana his wife had a son Gfeorge, born Sep. 
6, 1770 ; this George married Eliza Winant, Nov. 15, 1794. 

John and Hannah, or Johanna his wife, had a daughter 
Elizabeth, born July 29, 1774, and a son Jacob, May 15, 1776. 

Peter and Charity his wife had a son Isaac, born Feb. 1, 
1775 ; this Isaac married Patty Winant, Jan. 16, 1796. 

Peter and Ann his wife had two children, Daniel and 
Ann, baptized Nov. 20, 1785. See Note below. 

Cornelius, and Catharine his wife, had a daughter Cornelia 
baptized Nov. 21, 1790. 

Peter and Mary Winant were married July 14. 1790. 

Moses and Catharine Winant were married Aug. 7, 1800. 

Daniel and Eliza Oakley were married Dec. 19, 1801. 

Note. — Peter Winant made his will May 9, 1793, which was proved 
July 26, 1793, in which he mentions his wife Ann, his father Daniel, 
and alludes to his children without giving their names. 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 437 

WOGKLOM. 

This name was originally written " Van Wogelum." 
John sold land in 1696 ; this is the earliest mention of the 
name in the local records ; the next is — 
G-rysie Woggelum, who was witness at a baptism in 1698. 
John Van W. had daughter Chrystyntien, bap. 22, 1707, 
and a daughter Suster, bap. July 26, 1711. 

Ary (Adrian) and Celia Pryer had the following children : 

Son Jan, bap. May 21, 1716. 

Daughter Anna, bap. June 3, 1722. 

Son Andries, bap. June 27, 1725. 

Son Adrian, bap. July 27, 1729. 

Son Abraham, bap. Aug. 8, 1731. 
There was a Douwe Van W. residing on the Island in 1742. 
The next notices of any members of the family are from the 
records of St. Andrews. 
Abraham and Hannah Parlee, married Nov. 18, 1790. 
Joshua and Martha Cole married Feb. 10, 1796. 
John and Lanah Pryor married Dec. 24, 1808. 



WOOD. 



This family is of English origin. The name is common 
everywhere, and it is exceedingly doubtful whether the Woods 
on the Island have descended from the same original. The 
present representative of one of the families is Samuel B. 
Wood, Esq., residing near Garrison's Station, on the S. I. 
Railroad. He is the son of the late John B. , who, with his 
brother Samuel (still living 1876), are the sons of Samuel. 
Samuel's brothers were Joseph, John, Stephen and Jesse, 



438 ANNALS OF STATEN island. 

and they were the sons of John, the g. grandfather of Sam- 
uel B., Esq. It is impossible to trace the genealogy of any 
other branch, but subjoin the names of such as are to be 
found in the several church records. 

Stephen and his wife Geertje (G-ertrnde) Winter, had twins 
Stephen and Obadia, baptized Dec. 24, 1727. 

Stephen and his wife Jemima Mott had a son Richard, 
baptized June 13, 1731. 

The above are from the records of the Dutch Church ; the 
following are from those of St. Andrew's Church. 

Stephen and Mary his wife had a daughter, Mary, born 
Sept. 18, 1772 ; a son Stephen, bap. June 5, 1785. 

John and Margaret his wife had a son Stephen, bap. Aug. 
1, 1773, who married Damy Housman Feb. 3, 1794. (This 
Stephen was one of the five brothers mentioned above as sons 
of John.) 

Stephen and Alice, or Elsy, his wife, had a son John, bap. 
June 15, 1783 ; he married Barbara Van Pelt Dec. 23, 1804, 
and another son, Abraham, born Sep. 22, 1788. 

Timothy and Sarah Rezeau were married Jan. — , 1769. 

Isaac and Susan Lewis were married Feb. 9, 1794. 

John and Sarah Lockman were married Mar. 23, 1794. 

Richard and Catharine Lockman were married Jan. 7, 1795. 

James and Elston (Alston ?) were married June 1, 1799. 

Charles and Joanna pongan were married Dec. 11, 1806. 

(She was the daughter of the late Walter Dongan, of the 
Four Corners, and the mother of Mr. Walter D. Wood, of 
Mariner' s Harbor. ) 

Jesse and Catharine Marshal were married July 9, 1807. 

James, mentioned above, lived at Long Neck, or Travisville, 
and his sons were Charles, mentioned above, John, Peter and 
Abraham ; Charles was well known in his day as a local 
preacher in the Methodist Church. 

John, brother of Charles, married Mary Jones, and was 
the father of James, deceased in 1831, and Edward resides at 
Travisville. 



"m: 



MISCELLANEOUS. 



440 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 



DEFUNCT INCORPORATIONS ON STATEN ISLAND- 

In the year 1823 the Legislature passed an Act incorpor- 
ating the Village of Tompkinsville, but beyond this nothing 
was ever done. 



March 11th, 1835, an Act was passed to incorporate the 
New York India Rubber Cloth Company ; for a term of 
twenty years. The capital stock was $100,000, in shares of 
$50 each. The first Directors appointed by the Act were 
Samuel Marsh, Nathan Barrett and David V. N. Mersereau. 

The Company was duly organized, and erected a building, 
which is still standing, in the Fourth Ward of the Village 
of New Brighton, and now occupied as a paper hanging manu- 
factory. 

The business was carried on successfully for several years, 
until competition finally rendered it unremunerative, when 
it was discontinued. 



March 26th, 1838, an Act was passed to incorporate " The 
Staten Island Whaling Company." The capital stock was 
$200,000 in shares of $50 each. Richard D. Littell, John H. 
Smith, Ephraim Clark, Jun., Jacob Bodine, Franklin S. Kin- 
ney, William A. Swain, Eder V. Haughwout, William 
Woram and John Totten, were appointed Commissioners to 
open the books and receive subscriptions to the capital stock. 

The Company was duly organized, and erected a building 
upon the present site of Jewett's White Lead Factory, at 
Port Richmond. They also purchased a bark called the 
"■White Oak," which made one voyage in quest of whales, 
and after several months' absence returned with a tolerable 
cargo. A fire having occurred, which totally consumed the 
large building with all its contents, the Company was dis- 
solved. 



April 18th, 183S, an Act was passed to incorporate " Rich- 
mond College," to be located on Staten Island. Ogden Ed- 
wards, Walter Patterson, diaries T. Catlin, Jacob Tysen, 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 441 

Thomas McAuley, Charles A. Porter, John 8. Westervelt, 
William Wilson, George Howard, Caleb T. Ward, William 
W. Phillips, Thomas Wilson, Minthome TompMns, Wil- 
liam A. Seely, John N. McLeod, Thomas Cumming, Billop 
B. Seaman, William C. Brownlee, Robert Patlison, David 
Moore, Alexander Martin, Thomas E. Dams, James 0. 
Smith, William Scott, Lonis McLane, John E. Miller, James 
Pollock, James B. Murray, Duncan Dunbar, Samuel Barton, 
William Agnew, Thomas J. Oakley, John R. Satterlee, and 
William Soul were constituted the body corporate and poli- 
tic, and the first trustees. Several efforts were made to con- 
vene the trustees without success, and the matter finally died 
away and was forgotten. Monies parturient, etc. 

N. B. The names in Italics were residents of the Island. 



THE STATEN ISLAND BANK. 

The Staten Island Banking Association commenced busi- 
ness July 24th, 1835. It was located at Port Richmond, and 
its place of business was the west end of the double building, 
corner of the Shore Road and Broadway, now occupied as a 
shoe store. Its first board of directors were Richard D. Lit- 
tell, John H. Smith, William A. Swain, Franklin S. Kinney, 
William Woram, William Colgate, Eder V. Haughwout, 
Jacob Bodine, John Totten, Sen., Joseph Seguine, John T. 
Harrison and Samuel Sherwood. 

Richard D. Littell was president, and John West cashier. 
After a brief existence of about two years, its doors were 
closed, and have never since been opened. 



CEMETERIES. 

The reprehensible practice of burying the dead under and 
around churches, originated with the Romish priests, who 
pretended that the Souls of the deceased enjoyed some pe- 
culiar advantages by having their dead bodies interred in 
ground consecrated by a church ; but even they have grown 



442 ANNALS OJF STATEN ISLAND. 

wiser in these days, and the practice is going into desuetude-. 
The ancients always buried their dead at a distance from 
densely populated localities ; the Turks construct their ceme- 
teries far from the abodes of the living, and usually adorned 
them with great care. The dangerous practice of inter- 
ring the dead among the living is still continued in several 
places on Staten Island, but which at no very distant period 
will be prohibited by legal enactments. There are several 
cemeteries on the Island, among which are the Staten Island 
and Fountain Cemeteries, at West New Brighton ; the Ceme- 
tery of St. Peter's Church, on the Clove road; Silver Mount 
and Woodlawn Cemeteries, on Richmond Turnpike, Middle- 
town ; Springville and Sylvan Cemeteries, in Northiield ; St. 
Mary's Cemetery, in Southfield, and the Moravian Cemetery 
at New Dorp. The latter, containing over sixty acres, is 
larger than all the others combined. This was a burial 
ground more than twenty years before the Moravians ob- 
tained possession of the land. It is a place of great natural 
beauty, which art has much improved. There are several 
objects of interest in it, among which may be enumerated the 
mausoleum or family vaults of Commodore Vanderbilt, of 
the Crocheron and other families ; the monuments of Mrs. 
Winant, J. C. Thompson, Capt. I. K. Dustan, W. B. Town- 
send, the Banker family, Col. Shaw, &c. ; this latter stands 
on a pretty elevation, and contains the following inscription : 

In Memory of 

Eobekt Gould Shaw, 

Col. 54th Keg. Mass. Vols. 

Born in Boston, 

10th October, 1837 : 

Killed 18th July, 1863, 

At Fort Wagner, 

Morris Island, S. C, 

and there buried 

"With his men. 

* Omnium reliquit 

servare rempublicam." 

* The motto on the badge of the Society of the Cinci unati. 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 443 

Pattent for a peice of land on Statten Island, granted to Garritt 
Croosen. 

Edmond Andross Esq 1 ' 

Whereas there is a certain parcell of land at Statten Island lying on 
y e north side thereof the which hath by order been layd out for Gar- 
ritt Croosen y e s d land being bounded on y G West side with a small 
runn of Water w ch makes y e partition betwixt y e land belonging to 
y e Mill & y e land layd out for Collon 6 ' Lovelace's Plantacon a lyne 
running on either side South and by East it is in breadth one hundred 
and seventeene English Eodd in length into y e woods two hundred 
thirty foure Eodd. Containing one hundred and sixty acres & one 
hundred Rodd as also a piece of Meadow Ground lying on y e South 
west side of John Tunisen's Creek bounded on y e South South West 
side & by y e Meadows by Clause Arcntson the North side of Peter 
Jansen soe round environed by the creeke containing twelve acres as 
by y e return of y e survey under the hand of y e survey 1 ' doth and may 
appear. Know yee &c. — Dated y e 29 day of Sept 1677, Quitt Rent 2 
Bushells of Good Winter Wheat in N. York. 



In one of the old record books containing minutes of the 
proceedings of the Supervisors, is the following entry : 
" 1827, May 5th, At a meeting held this day, present Harmanus Guy- 
on, John Totten & Nicholas Crocheron, Supervisors, also Richard 
Crocheron, Esq., James Guyon, Esq., and Walter Betts, Esq., Commis- 
sioners appointed according to a law passed April 10th, 1826, an act to 
provide for Building a Eire proof Clerk and Surrogate's office in the 
County of Richmond, whereby it was made the duty of the Supervisors 
at their annual meeting to cause to be levied and collected a sum not 
exceeding One Thousand five hundred Dollars, over and above the ex- 
pense of Collecting the same, for the purpose of building a fire proof 
Clerk and Surrogate's Office for Said County, to be located in such 
part of Said County as the Judges of the Said County, or a majority 
of them shall direct, and in which all the public Records and Papers 
belonging as well to the Clerk as the Surrogate of the Said County 
shall be kept, and the said Judges have fixed Upon the Cite of the Old 
County- house on the East side of the Goal for the locating the same. 

Whereupon resolved by the Said Supervisors Present that the county- 
house be sold and removed without delay to make a clear Cite for the 
purpose of erecting Said Clerk and Surrogate's office, and also that the 
proceeds of such sail be paid to the County Treasurer, subject to the 



444 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

order of the Supervisors, and also that the said Commissioners be and 
hereby are empowered to sell Said County house for the best price 
that can be got for the same at public Vendue, notice to be given of 
the sime (sic) of such sale. And the Supervisors having caused to be 
raised and paid into the Treasury of Said County the sum of six hun- 
dred dollars for and towards the Building Said Clerk and Surrogate's 
office. Also resolved by the Supervisors that they will in case the six 
hundred dollars raised for the purpose of building Said Clerk and 
Surrogate's office should be Insufficient to pay for building the same ; 
In such case they will Borrow as much as will be sufficient to complete 
the same. Provided however that the whole cost of building such 
office shall not exceed one thousand five hundred dollars. 

Signed Herm s Guyon, 

Nicholas Crocheron, 
John Totten. 
Whereupon it was ordered by the Supervisors that their Clk shall 
Immediately give to said Commissioners an order on the County 
Treasurer for the said sum of six hundred Dollars. 

Which said order was in due form made out and delivered to one of 
the said Commissioners for the Payment of the said six hundred Dol- 
lars as aforesaid. 

Richard Conner, Clk. ) $ C. 

of the board of Supervisors [ 600 00 

The above document is given in full, as a specimen of the 
verbose and exceedingly precise style in which Col. Richard 
Conner, as clerk of the supervisors, kept all the county 
records, under his official care. 

The "Goal" incidentally alluded to, still stands on the 
corner north of and directly opposite the hotel called the 
" Richmond County Hall," and the clerk's and surrogate's 
fire-proof offices, built upon the "Cite" of the county house, 
is the small brick building, also still standing, next east. The 
exact cost of the building cannot now be ascertained, but 
during the following year, bills for materials and labor were 
audited to the amount of $941.08. 

On the 7th of October, 1828, the following resolution was 
passed : 

" It is Besolved by a Majority of the Supervisors of the County of 
Richmond that three men be appointed to take charge of the records 
of the County of Richmond, in consequence of the 111 health of the 



ANNALS OF STATEJ5T ISLAND. 445 

present County Clerk,. Jonathan Lewis, Esq., and that they make an 
Inventory of such Books and Papers as they shall find in the office of 
Said Clerk, and shall deposit such Books and Papers in the office now 
erected in the Village of Eichmond for that purpose. Kesolved that 
"Walter Betts, Esq., Kichard D. Littell, Esq., and Abraham Auten, Deputy 
Clerk, is hereby appointed to take an Inventory of said Books and 
Papers, and deliver them to the said Abraham Auten, Deputy Clerk, 
on his giving a receipt for such Books and Papers on the Schedule or 
Inventory, and deliver such Schedule so signed to the Supervisors of 
Said County, By order of the Supervisors. 

Bichaed Conner, Ok." 

In January, 1830, there is an allowance of a bill to 
" Frederick B. Allen for work done and yet to be finished by him on 
the Poor house and out Buildings. $82 29 " 

In December, 1829, a bill was allowed to Richard D. Lit- 
tell and John Guyon as committee men, "to take into 
consideration the purchasing of a Farm for the poor of said 
County, also for advertising and attendance to receive pro- 
posals from persons who had farms for sale." 

In December, 1829, and January, 1830, bills to a large 
amount were audited for work, materials, &c, for the poor- 
house. 



THE COUNTY POOR-HOUSE. 

Prior to the establishment of a County Poor-House, the 
destitute poor were provided for by being boarded in private 
families, and sometimes under circumstances such as now 
would not be tolerated, as when children were paid for taking 
care of their helpless parents, of which there were several 
instances. 

On the second day of May, 1803, Joseph Barton, Sen., car- 
penter, and Mary, his wife, sold to the Supervisors, Justices, 
and Overseers of the Poor of the county, for the sum of 
$262.50, two acres of land, on the road leading from Rich- 
mond to New Dorp, on which was a small frame house, con- 
taining two or three rooms. This property was purchased 
for the purpose of a County Poor-House, though it was not 



446 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

able to accommodate one-fourth of the poor of the county, 
who appear to have been more numerous in proportion to the 
population than they are at present ; the remainder were dis- 
posed of as before stated. The public charity continued to 
be dispensed in this manner for more than a quarter of a cen- 
tury after the purchase. 

In January, 1829, the Supervisors called a public meeting 
of the taxpayers of the county, to devise some cheaper method 
of supporting the poor, "as the taxes were becoming burden- 
some." Whatever methods may have been proposed at that 
meeting, the proposition to purchase a farm large enough to 
enable the poor to earn their own subsistence by their own 
labor was adopted, and John Ghiyon and Richard D. Littell 
were appointed to ascertain what farms could be purchased, 
and at what prices, and to report at an adjourned meeting. 

In the meantime an application was made to the Legisla- 
ture for authority to make a purchase for the purpose pro- 
posed, and to levy a tax to pay for it. On the 8th day of 
April, 1829, the following Act was passed : 

"An Act to provide for a County Poor-House, in the county of 
Richmond. 

§ 1. The Act entitled, " An Act to provide for the establishment of 
County Poor-Houses," passed November 27th, 1824, shall apply to and 
include the county of Eichmond, the exception in the said Act not- 
withstanding ; but the sum to be raised by a tax, as specified in the 
first section, shall not exceed four thousand dollars. 

§ 2. It shall be lawful for the Supervisors of the said county of Eich- 
mond to sell the house and ground at present possessed by the county, 
and heretofore appropriated as a poor-house, and to apply the proceeds 
towards the purposes expressed in the said Act, and to no other 
■purpose." 

Of the several farms offered to the county, that of Stephen 
Martineau, containing between ninety and one hundred acres, 
in the town of Northfield, was selected, for which about three 
thousand dollars was paid, and which still belongs to the 
county, and continues to be occupied as a poor-house farm. 

On the 13th day of April, 1830, the Supervisors sold the 
old poor-house property to William D. Maltbie, for the sum 



AT5HSTALS OF STATEN" ISLAND. 447 

of one hundred and fifty dollars. This is the property now 
occupied by Dr. Millspaugh, near Richmond, opposite the 
parsonage of St. Andrew's Church. 

From, the Supervisors' accounts, it would appear that the 
new establishment was supplied with two or three cargoes of 
fertilizing materials, wagons, horses, cows, and necessary 
agricultural instruments. Isaac Britton was the keeper. 

On the 18th of October, 1836, the supervisors purchased 
fourteen and eight-tenths acres of salt meadow from John Eg- 
bert for $205. 

On the 7th day of January, 1842, the supervisors pur- 
chased five acres of woodland adjoining the county farm on 
the west, from William Decker, for $250. 

How far the original purpose of making the paupers sup- 
port themselves by their own labor, has been successful, is 
foreign to our present purpose ; the establishment has been 
regularly maintained, new buildings have been erected as 
circumstances developed their necessity, among which are 
apartments for the insane, a pest-house, and recently a re- 
spectable school- house. 

The present keeper is Mr. Thomas McCormack. 



The last royal patent for lands on Staten Island was 
granted by Queen Anne, to Lancaster Symes, on the 22d of 
October, 1708. It conveyed all unappropriated lands, mead- 
ows, &c, &c, on the Island, at an annual rent of six shil- 
lings current money of New York, payable on Lady-day of 
each year. It is recorded at Albany in book No. 7 of Pa- 
tents, page 371, and quite recently recorded in this County. 



As an example of the manner in which the old Dutch 
family records were kept, we subjoin the following of part 
of the Van Name family. The orthography is exceedingly 
defective : 



448 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

"Het Jar 1713 Den 29 actober is nryn soon Syme van name ge- 

bore." 

(The year 1713, the 29th October, is my son Simon Van Name, born.) 
" Het Jar 1716 Den 15 augustes is myn Dogter Sara gebore." 
(The year 1716, the 15th August, is my daughter Sarah born.) 
" Het yar 1718 Den ellefde augustes is myn soon aron van name 

gebore." 

(The year 1718, the 11th August, is my son Aaron Van Name born.) 
"Het yar 1705 Den 27 yanneware is magdalena Swem gebore. Het 

yar 1707 Den 19 my is maria Swem gebore." 

(The year 1705, the 27th January, is Magdalena Swaim born. The 

year 1707, the 19th May, is Maria Swaim born.) 

" Het yar 1725 den 8 feberwarii is my Soon moses van name 

gebore." 

(The year 1725, the 8th February, is my son Moses Van Name born.) 
See Van Name family, App. L, Simon Van Name and Sarah Prall 

nis wife. 
This Simon Van Name was a Justice of the Peace, and a 

prominent man in his day. We give below copies of a 

couple of legal documents issued by him : 

" Eichmond County 

To the Constable of the north diuision where as Complaind is made 
by Euert van name unto me Simon van name one of his Magistices 
Justice of the peace that Hennery day owith him the Sum of Seuen 
Shillings and neglect to Pay the same this is theair for to require you 
to somins thesame hennery day to apear before me at my dweling 
house on thursday next at one of the. aclock in the after noon which 
will be the 13 day of this instient month els Jugment shall go against 
him by The fault giuen from under my hand this the tenth day of 
March Ano domini 1728:9 

SlME VAN NAME." 

The following venire has a paper attached to it containing 
the names of twenty persons, the first twelve of whom are 
numbered, and probably constituted the jury in the cause : 

" Richmond to the Constable of 

County the North devition 

Where as there is an action depending between Tommas morgan 
plantif & Isaac Garrison Defended Both of the County Abousd 
(above said) and the Defendent Desires a Jury upon the sd Action 
These are therefore in his Maiestyes Name to Require & Commaud 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. . 449 

you to Svmmons Twelve Sufficient Men to Appear Before me on 
Wensday next at Twelve of the Clock in the forenoon of the Sameday 
at my Dwelling Hous to Serve as Jvrers upon the sd Action Depend- 
ing Whereof fail not Given under my hand Thee twenty seventh day 
of July Annoq. Dom. 1730 

SlME VAN NAME." 

Names attached ; 1 Abraham corshon, 2 richard crips, 3 John men- 
galroll 4 garat cruse, 5 philip merel, 6 honas deker, 7 barnt sweme, 8 
ranses bodine, 9 nicholes stilwill, 10 nichles depue, 11 John boker, 12 
tunas te bout, nickles bush, mr couanouer, art simanson, Jacob benet, 
lambart garison, thomas lisk, alexander lisk, ben goman ayrs." 

On the reverse of the venire are the following endorsements : 
Richmond County July the 29 
the Jury finds for the sd defendant. 

venire 0. 1. 6 

to the constabel 0. 

swaring the Jury . . . . , 2. 

swaring y evdens 1. 6 

swaring the Constel , 6 

Entring verdeck I. 

6—6 
We copy entire the following old bonds, with their en- 
dorsements, in English and Dutch, found among the pa- 
pers of Simon Van Name. 

" Know all men by these presents that I Johanis Swame of the 
County of Richd in the province of new york yeoman am holden and 
firmly bound unto magdalena Swame and mary Swame and peternel 
and Elizabeth of the same place in the Sum of two hundred and fourty 
pounds Current mony of New York to be paid to the Said above men- 
sioned or to there certain Attorneys Exers admrs ; or assigns to the 
which payment well and truly to be made I do here by bind my Self, 
my heirs ; Exers : and admrs ; and every and every of them firmly 
by these presents, Sealed with my Seal dated this 7th Day of Septem- 
ber in the 6th year of the Reign of our Soveraign Lord Gorge, by the 
Grace of God of Great Britain, france and Ireland king defender of 
the faith Anno Domini 1719. ' 

The Condition of this Obligation is Such that if the above bounden 
Johanis Swame, or his heirs Exers : admrs or assigns shall well and 
truly pay or cause to be paid to the above named magdalena Swame 
and mary Swame ; peternel De puy and Elizabeth Garrison ; and I am 



450 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

oblighd to pay magdalena Swanie Fifty pounds after the Death of 
Barent Swanie Six years her Fathers boorshon (portion) and raary 
Swame the Like Sum of Fifty pounds Current mony of New York of 
there fathars poorshon and I the said Johanis Swame am oblighd to 
pay to peternel De puy and Elasabath Garrison Each of them then 
(ten) pounds Like Current mony for there Fathers poorshon next en- 
suing the date here of without fraud or further Delay then this present 
Obligation to be void and of none effect or else to Stand and Remain 
in full force and virtue 

Sealed and Delivered in the 

his 

presence of us Johanis I S Swame ( ^ \s) 

mark 

eransoy bodain 
Peter Praal 



Endorsements. 
June y e 13th 1722 

Then Received of Simon van Ame & Aron prall executors of Johanes 
Swam deceased y e sum of twenty pounds Currant money of New York 
& upon this within written bond we say Received by us for our wiefes 
Peternel & Elizabeth Granted to them by bond as within mentioned 

Son (?) de puy 
Lambart Garison. 

anno 1723 Den sesde my Dan ontvange van syme van nam Extor van 
yohannes swem overled de som van vyftegh pout op dese enge schreve 
bant wy ont vange. 

Johannes decker. 

anno 1723 Den 18 actober 

Dan ontvange van Syme van name Exetor van yohannes swem over- 
lede De som van vyftyge pout op dese engeschreve bant en vol voor 
myn part ick ontvange madelen swem nouw wyf van charels dedecker 
wy ontvange. 

syn 

Charles C dedeker 

merk 

MADALEN dedekker 



"N." 



NOTES. 



452 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 



DIAGRAM OF THE SECOND EDIFICE OF THE 

REFORMED DUTCH CHURCH AT 

PORT RICHMOND. 

Built about 1714 — destroyed during the Eevolution. 




Platform van den ChristelyTc Needer duytsohe Kerk op 
Staten Eiland, den 30«» Iber Anno Dom : 1751. 

Danl. Corsen Fecit. 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 



453 



KEY TO THE « PLATFORM." 

Translation of the title : " Plan of the Christian Low Dutch Church on Staten 
Island, the 30th September, in the year of our Lord 1751 ; made by Daniel 
Corsen." 

A. Predikestoel — Pulpit. B. Ouderlingen — Elders. C. Diakenen— Deacons. 

1 Boumeester's Plaats en Kerkmeester's Plaats— The Master-Builder's Place 
and the Church-Warden's Place. 
2 Plaats voor den Overheidt — Place for the Magistrate. 



3 Nicholas Backer, 

4 Douwe Van Wogelom, 

5 Ernst Lende, Henrik Croesen, 

6 Jan Veghte, 

7 Jacob Corsen, Cornells Corsen, 

8 Gerrit Croesen, Abraham Croesen, 

9 Joshua Mersereaux, 

10 Gerrit Kroessen, 

11 Gerrit Post, Cor 9 Krock, 

12 Pieter De Groot, 

13 Johannes De Groot, 

14 Jan Van Pelt, and another illegible, 

15 .J oris Prall, 

16 Thomas Burbank, 

17 Jacob Van Pelt, 

18 Peter Martlinghe, 

19 Cornelius Croesen, 

20 Egbert Hagabot, 

21 Robert De Groot, 

22 Hendrik Proll, and another erased, 

23 Johannes Simonson, 
The succeeding nine are vacant, 

33 Antonie Van Pelt, 

34 Jon Roll, Junr., 

35 Joseae Morseroe, Junr., 

36 Cornelius Elles, 

37 Vacant, 

38 Art Simonson or Simonze, 

39 Richard Merrell, 

40 Jan Roll, 

41 Cornelius —sen., 

42 Isaac Simonze, 

43 Johanne Vanwagena, 

44 Wilhelmus Vreelandt, 

45 Cornelius Corsen, 

46 Christian Corsen, 

47 Otto Van Tuyl, 

48 Jacob Corsen, 

49 Vacant, 

50 Nealtje Hagewout, 

51 Cornelia Corsen, 

52 Aaltje Van Pelt, 

53 Jan Veghte, 

It will be observed that the numbers from 60 to 69, both inclusive, are dupli- 
cated ; we have underscored the duplicated numbers. It will also be observed 
that according to the universal custom in the olden times, the sexes were separ- 
ated in their seats. 

Across the ends of 76, 77 and 78 are written the words " Stoelen voor den 
Predikant " — Chairs for the Preacher. 

This was the second church edifice ; it was built about 1714, partially destroyed 
by fire, by the British early in the Revolution as a rebel church, what was left 
standing, was subsequently blown down, in a heavy gale. 

The name of Daniel Corsen does not appear among those of the pew-holders ; 
but as he was generally the incumbent of some civil office, his seat was in No 1. 
or 2. He was county clerk at the time he made the diagram. 



54 Cornelia Veghte, 

55 Vacant, 

56 Helena Croesen, 

57 Elisabet Corsen, Sister Bock, 

58 Maria Praal, 

59 Catrina Berckelo, 

60 Sara Elles, 

61 Arayaentie Elles, 

62 Elizabeth Baker, 

63 Sara Post, 

64 Belitie De Groot, 

65 Elizabeth De Groot, 

66 AeyeaSpeer, 

67 Vacant, 

68 Maria Mersereau, 

69 Fransyntje Post and another erased, 

60 MaHgrita Simonze, 

61 Marritje Burbank, 

62 Neliete Vreelandt, 

63 Ainatie Martlinglis, 

64 Elsje Merrill, 

65 Qurtruyde Merrell, 

66 Antje Corsen, 

67 Cornelia Croesen, 

68 Qterret Croesen, 

69 Simonse, 

70 Cornelia , 

71 De Nakomelings van (the descendants 

of) Catharine Hoogelandt, 

72 Vacant, 

73 Knelia ricke, 

74 Magritie Gerrode ? 

75 Jannetje Van Woggelom, 

76 Maria Beekman, 

77 Fermi e Van B , 

78 Vacant, 

79 Fytie Mersereau, 

80 Lena Van Wagene, 

81 Maria Prall, 

82 Annietie fountain, 

83 Wintie Van Tuyls, 

84 Rebecca Staats. 



454 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

(1) Smith, in his " History of New York," says that the voyage in 
which Hudson discovered the great river which bears his name was 
made in 1608, under a commission from the king of England. The 
English, when they laid claim to the territory occupied by the Dutch, 
did so under pretence of a former grant made to the Virginia Com- 
pany, and not in conseqiience of any discovery made by Hudson. The 
inquiry naturally suggests itself, if Hudson sailed under an English 
commission, how did he obtain the command of a Dutch ship ? for it 
is not pretended that the Half Moon was anything else. Again, why, 
under such circumstances, did he name our Island after the States 
General of Holland ? Evidently Smith looks only through English 
spectacles. 

(2) Quoted by Drake in his " Book of the Indians of North Amer- 
ica." 

(3) Might makes right. 

(4) The name of this child was Sarah ; she lived to be the wife of 
two husbands, and the mother of twelve children. Dunlap, Vol. 1, p. 
47, in a note, gives the names of her husbands and children. 

(5) Some authorities say that the Director-General and Council pur- 
chased Staten Island from the Indians about 162G, several years before 
the date of the first patent. 

(6) This was in February, 1643. 

(7) A schepel was about three pecks. 

(8) The late Hon. G. P. Disosway. 

(9) In his negotiations Lovelace referred to the several previous sales, 
but the Indians replied that they had not been paid in full, and now 
demanded an additional 600 fathoms of wampum, but finally agreed, 
to accept 400, together with a number of guns, axes, kettles and watch- 
coats. The Governor and Council came to an agreement with them on 
the 9th of April, 1670, by which, on receiving payment, they promised 
to abandon the Island. On the 1st day of May, they formally delivered 
up possession to Thomas Lovelace and Matthias Nicholls, who were 
deputed for the jmrpose. Yet, in a public document dated July 8th, 
1672, Nathaniel Sylvester is represented as the owner of the Island. 
This Nicholls was at one time Secretary of the colony. There was a 
Sylvester family residing on the Island at an early date, and some 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 455 

of the name were found here in 1754, when John Sylvester and 
Elizabeth his wife had a daughter born Nov. 1. Bap. Rec. St. An- 
drew's Church. 

(10) The value of a guilder was forty cents. 

(11) This spring was so called because it supplied the Hessians, who 
were encamped upon the neighboring heights during the Revolution* 
with water. 

(12) We find the name of Joseph Billop in the county records, once 
as being the lessee of 200 acres of land, and in 1711 as a Judge of the 
county. We have been unable to discover what relationship, if any, 
he bore to the colonel. 

(13) Brodhead says that the date of his death was February, 1672 ; 
whereas the tablet in St. Mark's Church makes it August, 1682, a differ- 
ence of about ten and a half years. 

(14) On the 29th September, 1677, Gov. Andros executed a patent 
to Garret Croosen (Cruser) for 160 acres of land on the north side of 
Staten Island, an abstract of which will be found in App. M, which is 
bounded on the west by " a small runn of water." It is difficult, if not 
impossible, at this day to trace the boundaries of some of the old pat- 
ents, but we assume that the " runn of water " mentioned in the patent 
is the stream issuing out of the " boiling spring " on the Bement estate, 
as that spring was formerly called the " Cruser spring, " and in convey- 
ances of even recent date the " runn" is called the " Cruser Spring 
brook." The land conveyed was 117 rods in breadth, probably at 
right angles with the sides, and not following the sinuosities of the 
shore of the Kills, which, being nearly 2,000 feet, would reach nearly 
or quite to the Pelton estate. This estate once belonged to one of the 
Cruser family, but probably it was a subsequent purchase. By the 
same patent it is evident that " Colon 61 Lovelace's Plantacon," laid west 
of the Cruser grant, and must have been conveyed to him before the 
date of that grant. The Palmer patent begins at a cove on " Kill Van 
Cull," on the east bounds of the lands of Garret Cruser ; probably the 
word east is a clerical error, and should have been west, but even on 
that supposition the boundaries described in the latter patent would 
embrace Lovelace's property. If we assume " the cove " to be that 
next west of and adjoining the Pelton estate, the difficulty would be 
increased, as the boundaries would embrace the properties both of 
Lovelace and Cruser. As we said before, insuperable difficulties meet 
us in every attempt to locate these boundaries. The natural outlet of 



456 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

the Cruser Spring Brook was at or near the place where the surplus 
water from the works of the New York Dyeing and Printing Estab- 
lishment now enters the Kills. The pond of this Establishment is an 
artificial structure, made nearly a century ago for the use of a mill 
which stood on the " Factory Dock." The main stream which sup- 
plies this pond is also an artificial canal ; the natural outlet of the 
water which now supplies this pond was through Bodine's pond into 
the Kills. In Governor Dongan's days, these waters supplied a pond 
in the rear of the reservoir of the Gas Company on the south side of 
Post Avenue, for the use of his mill, which we have elsewhere alluded 
to as the mill, in the cellar of which cannon were said to have been con- 
cealed. 

(15) Silver Lake. 

(16) Toad Hill. 

(17) Between Graniteville and New Springville. 

(18) Born Thomas Earmar ; he was the father of Col. Billop, of 
the Revolution. 

(19) This description of the severity of that winter was given to the 
writer by an old man who was born in 1748, and died in 1837. He 
had frequently heard his father speak of it. His description applied 
to Long Island near the Narrows, where the family resided, but was 
just as applicable to Staten Island. 

(20) So called because the sign of the tavern at the ferry had the 
figure of a comet painted upon it. 

(21) Thomas Arrowsmith ; the name of this man occurs in several 
places in .the county records, as having bought and sold land. In the 
records of St. Andrew's Church, the baptism of his daughter Mary, 
May 26, 1754, is entered, and the birth of his son Henry on the 30th 
November, 1758, which must have occurred while the father was absent 
with the army. He was a man of some importance in the county. 
The family is no longer found here. 

(22) The order of the Garter, which outvies all similar institutions 
in the world, was founded by Edward III, April 23d, 1349-50 ; the 
garter is of blue velvet, bordered with gold, with the inscription in the 
old French, " Honi soit qui mat y pense." 

(23) A quaint old historian says that during this actiou Sir Peter 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 457 

met with a serious loss in having a very important and indispensable 
part of his silk breeches carried away by a cannon ball, which passed 
in his rear. 

(24) Gen. Howe to Lord George Germain : 

" Staten Island, July 7, 8, '76. 

The Halifax fleet arrived June 29 at Sandy Hook, where I arrived, 
four days sooner. I met with Gov. Tryon on board ship at the Hook, 
and many gentlemen, fast friends to Government, attending him, from 
whom I had the fullest information of the state of the Rebels, who are 
numerous and advantageously posted with strong intrenchments, both 
upon L. I. and at N. Y., with more than 100 pieces of cannon for the de- 
fense of the town towards the sea, and to obstruct the passage of the 
fleet up the North River, besides a considerable field train of artillery. 
We passed the Narrows with three ships of war and the first division 
of transports ; landed the Grenadiers and Light Infantry, as the ships 
came up, on the Island, to the great joy of a most loyal people, long 
suffering on that account under the oppression of the Rebels stationed 
among them, who precipitately fled on the approach of the shipping. 
The remainder of the troops landed next day and night, and are now 
distributed in cantonments, where they have the best refreshments. I 
propose waiting here for the English fleet, or for the arrival of Lt. Gov. 
Clinton, in readiness to proceed, unless by some unexpected change of 
circumstances it should in the meantime be found expedient to act 
with the present force." 

The oppression of the "loyal people" by the rebels stationed among 
them, alluded to in the above letter, existed only in the writer's imagi- 
nation. There were no rebel forces stationed here ; the British took 
possession too early. There were several " rebels" escaped from the 
Island when the British arrived, but it was only those who had so 
freely expressed their opinions, that they considered their personal 
safety endangered by remaining. 

(25) A British official account of the battle says : " On the 25th Lt. 
Gen. De Heister, with two brigades of Hessians from Staten Island, 
joined the army, leaving one brigade of his troops, a detachment of 
the 14th Regiment from Virginia, some convalescents and recruits, un- 
der the command of Lieut. Col. Dalrymple, for the security of the 
Island. 

(26) This account was received from the late venerable Mr. Joseph 
Bedell, who, though a boy, was one of the prisoners taken by the 
Americans. Mr. B. was born Oct. 24, 1763 — consequently he was 



458 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

about fourteen years old when the skirmish took place. He fixed the 
day of the month, Aug. 8, by the fact of the extraordinary heat of the ■ 
day. Two British soldiers, in pursuit of the Americans, utterly over- 
come, lay down under two large trees which then stood in front of the 
premises now occupied by Mr. Jacob G. Garrison, at Fresh Kill, and 
died there. 

(27) The above brief account differs slightly from that in Col. 
Simcoe's Journal, which evidently is so prejudiced as to be utterly 
unreliable. 

(28) Bedell and Micheau kept a store at Fresh Kill. 

(29) The man who was instrumental in saving the life of Simcoe, 
by restraining the boy who was about to stab him, was named Mar- 
rener. He was a very active partisan, and was peculiarly obnoxious 
to the British. He was subsequently taken prisoner, and Clinton de- 
clined to accede to his exchange until Simcoe informed him that he 
owed his life to this man's intervention ; the only trait of humanity 
recorded of Simcoe while in America. 

(30) There was a Gen. Skinner in the tory department of the Brit- 
ish army ; he is said to have come from Amboy. 

(31) Kobin's Keef was so called because of the great number of 
seals which frequented it ; robyn being the Dutch word for seal. 

(32) At this time he lived on the present poor-house farm. 

(33) In the baptismal record of St. Andrew's Church, is the fol- 
lowing entry : 

" Christopher Voke, son of John Voke, Capt. and mary his wife, was 
baptised June 2d, 1783." 

(34) See Alston, App. L. 

(35) The house he lived in stands on the westerly side of the Am- 
boy road, a few rods from the Black Horse Corner, and is occupied by 
his son-in-law, Mr. Cornelius Egbert. 

(36) This Paul Micheau was probably the first of the name in the 
county ; he was born in 1700, and died Aug. 6th, 1751, while a mem- 
ber of the Colonial Assembly. His son Paul, and grandson Paul J., 
were both prominent men in the county. He resided in Westfield, 
and, as was customary in those days, was buried on his own land. 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 459 

His grave-stone, with two or three others, still stands in the middle of 
a large field west of the residence of Isaac K. Jessup, Esq. 

(37) He was not permitted to take his seat, on account of his un- 
disguised sympathy with the British. 

(38) His commission as Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas, etc., 
was dated Feb. 22d, 1798, and is still in existence. 

(39) Died before the expiration of his term, and Joseph Egbert 
appointed to fill the vacancy. 

(40) Since 1847 the duties of the Surrogate have been performed 
by the County Judge. 

(41) There are numerous receipts of this kind still in existence in 
all parts of the county. 

(42) In 3790, as we have seen, there were only 1593 males in the 
county ; in 1776 there were less, probably not much over 1200. 
Allowing half of these to be boys, and a proportion of men too old to 
bear arms, there were not many left to be enrolled in the four com- 
panies of militia. As Jacobson reported this enrollment to the Pro- 
vincial Congress, which was a patriotic body, as was not the Provincial 
Assembly, there were not many left to be regarded as tories. These 
four companies, however, were never mustered into the service of the 
country, for in about three months after the date of Jacobson's report, 
the British had possession of the Island — consequently they would no t 
have been suffered to leave their homes, to enter the service of their 
country. 

(43) The precise date of the removal of the county seat from Stony 
Brook to Bichmond cannot now be ascertained. There is a record of a 
court held in the court-house, at Stony Brook on the 5th day of Sep- 
tember, in the second year of the reign of George II — 1728. On the 
6th day of March, 1729, a court was held in the court-house at Bich- 
mond town ; the removal, therefore, was made between September 5th, 
1728, and March 6th, 1729. We have noted elsewhere that a stone 
prison had been built at Cuckol's town, and it was probably found in- 
convenient to have the court-house and prison in different places, some 
two miles apart, and therefore the removal was effected. 

The hamlet, now the village of Bichmond, was usually called Cockles- 
town, but in the old records we find the name written "Corkold's town " 
and "Cerkolds town f in the court records for 1711 it is written 
"Cuckols towne. v 



460 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

(44) It is probably owing to ignorance of the ancient name of the 
hill, that an attempt has not long ago been made to resuscitate it, in 
more euphonious form, as Monte Ferro, for instance, and thus obliter- 
ate the present disagreeable appellation of this beautiful locality. 

(45) In the early histories of the colony, allusion is sometimes made 
to the "Watering Place " on Staten Island, where outward-bound ves- 
sels usually took in water. This was near the present Tompkinsville 
landing. The brook which supplied the water still runs, though 
greatly diminished. There were also several springs along the eastern 
shore; some of which were very copious, and are still in existence, 
though many of them have been choked by modern improvements. 

(46) Old town as distinguished from Nieuw Dorp, or the present 
New Dorp. 

(47) Copy of a letter from the late Eev. Thomas De Witt, D.D., of 
New York, to the Kev. James Brownlee, D.D., of Staten Island. 

(48) March Gth, 1696, James Hanson Dye and James Felcketh exe- 
cuted a lease of a lot of land on the Fresh Kill Road to the Dutch 
congregation for a term of fifty years. The dimensions were " 87 foot 
on the east side, along the King's road, 81 foot on the south side, 63 
foot on the west side, and 60 foot on the north side." 

(49) We append the following additional and interesting facts in 
the history of this clergyman. After his settlement on Staten Island, 
he married Anna the daughter of Johannes Staats, and became the 
father of the following children, all of whom were born and baptized 
here, as the following extract from the old Dutch church records shows. 

Maria Catharine, baptized March 6, 1720. 

Anna, " July 23, 1721. 

Cornelius, " March 3, 1723. 

Staats, " March 21, 1725. 

Jacoba, " December 22, 1728. 

Zeger, " October 7, 1733. 

In the county clerk's office there is recorded a deed from John Staats 
to his son-in-law, Cornelius Van Sanfcvoord, dated 1734, and recorded 
1743, for a parcel of land on the North Side. This deed was recorded 
three years after he left the Island. The land conveyed by it is now a 
part of the Pelton property, and* the old house still standing is the 
identical one built and occupied by the Dominie. Prof. Pearson, in 
his " Genealogies of the First Settlers of Schenectady," says that the 
Eev. Cornelius Van Santvoord was the fifth minister of the church at 



ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 461 

that place. He came from Leyden, where he had a sister living at the 
time of his death in 1752, who had married Zeger Hazebrook. He 
preached his last sermon Dec. 21, 1751, from Luke ii : 10 — 14. On 
the succeeding New Year's day he ascended the pulpit, but was too weak 
to preach, and concluded his last public service by prayer and the 
customary New Year's benediction. He died Jan. 6, 1752, aged 55 
years, and was buried under the church. His wife died soon after his 
removal to Schenectady, and on the 19th of February, 1748, he mar- 
ried Elizabeth Toll. She died before the date of his will, which was 
March 6, 1747, leaving no issue. His eldest daughter Maria Catharine 
married John E. Wendell, a lawyer of Albany, July 16, 1741. His 
eldest son Cornelius settled in Albany in 1747, and married Ariantje 
Bradt on the last day of the year 1747 ; he lived on the site of the 
present Delevan House. His brother Staats, who was a gunsmith, 
married Willempie Bradt, a sister of his brother's wife on the same 
day. His son Zeger settled at Schenectady, and married Catalyntje, 
daughter of Elias Post, April 18, 1756 ; he died on the anniversary of 
his wedding 1813. His daughter Jacoba married Peter Truex of 
Schenectady, Feb. 26, 1749. Prof. Pearson says all his children were 
born on Staten Island, and mentions another daughter, Geertje (Ger- 
trude), who married Ryk Van der Bilt on the Raritan, but her name is 
not found in the baptismal record above mentioned. 

(50) For most of these historical facts, the writer is indebted to the 
" Address delivered in the Reformed Church, Port Richmond, by Rev. 
James Brownlee, D.D., on the fortieth anniversary of his settlement, 
August 22, 1875," by the kind permission of the author. 

(51) Ellis Duxbury, or Elias Dukesberry — for the name is found 
written both ways — was by birth an Englishman, and came to Staten 
Island at an early date. He was Judge of the county nineteen years, 
and several times member of the Colonial Assembly. His will, be- 
queathing the property alluded to in the text was dated May 5, 1718, 
and proved October 22 of the same year. The property was a planta- 
tion of two hundred acres, situated on the northeast extremity of the 
Island, and consequently the point of land at New Brighton was, un- 
til a recent date, generally known as " Duxbury's Point," and sometimes 
" The Glebe." It was bequeathed to the Minister, Church-wardens and 
Vestry of St. Andrew's Church, for the only use and maintenance of 
the minister and incumbent. The property still owned by the church 
at Tompkinsville and its vicinity is a part of this bequest. Being a 
devise to a religious incorporation, it was void by law, but as the title 
of the church was never disputed, and as the State by several acts in- 



462 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

cidentally recognized its validity, to say nothing of a possession of 
more than a century and a half, the title has long ago become unim- 
peachable. 

(52) In the old record is the following entry : 

" Mr. field came hear whitsunday the 1st May & administered the 
sacrent, 1780." 

In justice to the clergymen of this church, it is proper to remark 
that the records from which we quote here and elsewhere, were kept, 
not by them, but by the clerks of the church, some of whom evidently 
had not been familiar with a school-house in their youth. 

(53) Several authorities which have been consulted, and among 
them Dr. Henshaw's biography of Bishop Moore, unite in fixing the 
date of this settlement in 1789. The authority for the date in the text 
is an entry in the old book of records of the church in his own hand- 
writing, and is as follows : 

" Register of Marriages since my settlement in the Parish of Saint 
Andrew's, October 1, 1788." 

His first marriage bears date Oct., 1788, and is that of Richard Lake 
and Simonson. In the same book is also the following entry : 

" October 5, 1788, the Reverend Richard Moor Began Devine Serves 
at the Church of Saint Andrews." 

His first baptism bears the same date ; it was that of Catharine, 
daughter of John Poillon. 

(54) The history of Calvary Presbyterian Church was furnished by 
Rev. J. M. Greene. 

(55) Jacobus Vanderbilt — this is evidently an error — Jacobus is 
James, and in the whole Vanderbilt genealogy there is not a single 
James ; the name should undoubtedly be written Jacob. This is fur- 
ther evident from the fact that Jacob Vanderbilt, born in 1692 and 
died in 1759, according to the family record, and 1760 according to 
the church account, was the first of the name on Staten Island, and 
that his wife's name was Elenor or Neiltje, both names being the same,- 
the one English, the other Dutch. He was at one time an elder in the 
Reformed Dutch Church on Staten Island. 

Elizabeth Inyard was the widow of Matthias, and sister of Capt. 
Nicholas Garrison, whose biography is given elsewhere. 



ANNALS OF STATED ISLAND. 463 

(56) He is said to have been the inventor of centre-boards in sailing 
vessels. 

(57) This church, at the corner of the old Clove and Richmond 
Eoad, has for many years been totally abandoned by the Baptists. 
It gradually fell into ruin, and was finally demolished early in the 
present year, 1877. 

(58) This church stood on the ground now occupied by the small 
Baptist Cemetery, nearly opposite the District School House, and was 
demolished after the organization of the North Baptist Church. 

(59) Francis Asbury was born 1746, and came to America in 1771. 
He was ordained bishop by Dr. Coke in 1784, and was the senior 
bishop of the Methodist Church in the United States. He traveled 
annually through the country, preaching and ordaining preachers. He 
died suddenly at Spotsylvania, Va., in 1816, aged 70 years. 

(60) The following is a copy of the inscription on the tomb-stone 
of Mr. Cole, in the burying-ground of "Woodrow Church. 

Sacred to the Memory of Rev. William Cole, born Sept. 22d, 1769 ; 
joined M. E. Church Oct. 26, 1788 ; Born of the Spirit May 5, 1789 ; 
received license to preach the Gospel May 6, 1792 ; ordained deacon 
Oct. 1, 1797 ; ordained elder June 2, 1822 ; departed this life April 
14, 1843, aged 73 years, 6 months, 23 days. 

(61) There is the following note attached to his name : 

. " £8 if he keeps that land now in dispute, or £4 if he loses it. 

(62) There is a small chapel at Kreischerville under the care of the 
Woodrow Church. 

(63) U. A. C. Unaltered Augsburgian Confession. This Confession 
was drawn up at Augsburg by Melancthon, and by him and Luther 
presented to the Emperor Charles in 1530. 

(64) This Paul Micheau died 1751. In the middle of a large field, 
in the town of Westfield, near the residence of Isaac K Jessup, Esq., 
is a small cluster of grave-stones, among which is that denoting the 
place of the interment of this Paul Micheau. 

(65) There is an entry in an old Court record of 1726, wherein 
Francis Bodin (written Buddin in another place) was charged with 
some offence against the king, and " comes into Court, and rather than 



464 ANNALS OF STATEN ISLAND. 

contend with the king confesses judgment and submits to a fine," 
which is only another way of pleading guilty. 

(66) The following is a copy of the inscription upon the tomb-stones 
of Col. Nicklos Britten and his wife : 

" Here lyes y e Body of Col. Nicklos Britten, aged 61 years, Deceased 
Jan. 12, 1740. 

Here lies a man of tender hart 
Unto the poor in every part 
He never sent the poor away 
Which well is nown unto this Day." 

" Here Lyes y e Body of Frances, wife of Col. Nicholas Britton, aged 
66 years, Deceased May y e 7, 1748. 

This Woman who is buried here 
This county has nown for many a year 
A loving mistress, a faithful wife 
A Tender mother all her Life." 
These stones are still standing in the Moravian Cemetery, and are 
evidence that there was a burial-ground there long before the Mora- 
vians obtained possession of the property. 

(67) This sword, which is at present in the possession of H. J. Cor- 
sen, Esq., of New Springville, was an heir-loom in the family ; the silk 
sash, however, has disappeared. 

(68) This Cornelius Egbert, still living (July, 1876), married the 
daughter of Bornt Lake, who was murdered by Christian Smith, and 
occupies the same house Lake occupied at the time of his -death. His 
brother William married another daughter of Lake. 

(69) Matthias Enyard, with his mother Elizabeth Garrison — she 
being then a widow — were among the first members of the Moravian 
Church on the Island. See the history of that church. He had a son 
Matthias, who married Sarah Decker, and had the following sons, 
Reuben, Elias, Nicholas, John and Matthias. The names of David 
and Benjamin Enyard appear in the court records in 1770, but we have 
not met with them elsewhere. 

(70) Edmund Andros, Knt. Lieut, and Governor-General, under 
his Royal Highness James, Duke of York and Albany, etc., of New 
York and dependencies in America, granted to Abraham Lake in an 
eighty acres of land on the northwest side of Staten Island at an an- 
nual rent of one bushel of wheat. 

687 



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